The Sorcerer Oacus
by SpringRiverImagination
Summary: His heart was empty, his emotions void. He despised the weak and he was a servant to the strong. He sought to fill the emptiness within him with somthing...anything. His endless search across the land of Deltora led him right to what he had been searching for in the form of a brave young boy, though it may not be what he thought he needed.
1. Chapter 1

**I don't own Deltora Quest, it belongs to Emily Rodda the writer of all its books. Now please enjoy the story and be sure to tell me what you think in the reviews.**

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Chapter One: A Heart of Fire

He stood on a cliff overlooking the small town of RimDale that sat at the northern most reaches of Deltora. His white cloak flapped gently around him in the morning wind, his hood shielded his face from prying eyes. He looked up towards the mountains to the north that seemed to loom closer with each passing moment.

He could feel the darkness of the Shadowlands, and the sadistic, cold presence of the Shadow Lord even here.

The Shadow Lord. The evil entity that in times past had brought the Land of Dragons to its knees and nearly crushed it, only to be stopped by Adin and the rest of the of the six tribes from across the land, that they had renamed Deltora, and cast back into the Shadowlands.

The same Shadow Lord, whose name struck fear into the hearts of the innocent, was also his Master.

Lifting his right hand up before him he chanted a string of magical words. When he had completed his chant blue fire erupted from his back into the shape of wings.

The Shadow Lord was his Master, and like his Master he had an insatiable, want for the suffering of others.

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He stood amongst the burning houses of RimDale, what was left of the townspeople coward before him. None spoke and he knew that fear had paralyzed their pathetic human tongues.

He despised humans. They were weak, feeble minded, and doomed to fail, their lives meant nothing to him….and yet even as he thought those very words his hand hesitated to finish the townspeople off.

"You can't!" He searched for the brave owner of the voice, who had spoken in the face of death with the kind of unwavering voice that he so rarely heard from a human.

His eyes rested on a boy who couldn't have been over twelve years old. He had short spiky black hair and his dark blue eyes stared straight into the Sorcerers emotionless face.

"You can't hurt these people! I won't let you!" He yelled unsheathing a dagger. The dagger's golden hilt glinted in the firelight making it easy to see how priceless the weapon could be.

Slightly taken aback by the boy's show of fearlessness, he did not respond to the outburst.

He felt something welling up inside him; it was a warmness that didn't come from his fire. It came from….

The townspeople screamed as the fire burned their human flesh. He lowered his hand and looked at the boy who has spoken. He had a shocked look on his face. The Sorcerer's reaction had been too fast for his young eyes see.

Watching the boy's eyes, he became aware that the screaming sickened him.

When the boy looked at him after a few long moments, there was no hint of fear in his young eyes. Only anger.

The boy cried out and ran towards the Sorcerer. He jerked his dagger forward when he was close enough desperate to pierce anything.

"Esbada." He whispered the spell under his breath, drawing out his blue sword to block the boy's blade. He knew that he didn't even have to put in an effort in order to defeat this boy, the golden dagger he had was nothing compared to the magic he possessed. But the spell that would finish the boy off would not pass through his lips.

A tear rolled down the boy's anger filled face and he screamed, "Don't you have a heart!"

For a moment he did not respond. His empty heart lay silent inside him growing colder by the second. Then suddenly, like the striking of a match, it burned like fire. His answer echoed out in a mixture of cruel anger, and pure sadness.

"No."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: The Boy and the Sorcerer

The trip from the remains of RimDale to the small town of Shadowgate was a moderately long one. The town of Shadowgate was a dark place with few sane people to speak of, it sat at the feet of the Barrier Mountains, the only thing sitting between the Shadowlands and Deltora.

He had always returned to Shadowgate after satisfying his lust for the deaths of others, it had always been a kind of _home_ to him. Though today the prospect of seeing the grim place again only made him uneasy.

Glancing behind him for probably the hundredth time in a row he caught another glimpse of the boy from RimDale as his head disappeared behind one of the many trees on the overgrown path.

It was true that mercy was not in his nature, but as he saw it sparing the boy had not been a mercy-it had been a curse.

The boy seemed dead now, as if he had died with the townspeople in the fire back in his hometown. He appeared to be following the Sorcerer unconsciously, as if he were clinging to the only live thing around him, a frail human attempt to latch onto anything that could possibly comfort him and save him from the darkness that threatened to consume him.

For the life of him the Sorcerer could not understand why the boy had latched onto _him_, after all it had been him who had killed all those people.

He continued to walk the familiar path becoming ever more aware of the Shadowlord's presence here. He could feel the dread, the despair, and the _**hatred**_ all growing larger and larger within him. They were all feelings he was used to, feelings he had desired at one point, but now...

His hand touched his chest, the place where his heart should have been. Suddenly he could feel the change. His Master's presence…disgusted him.

He stopped walking abruptly an alien feeling of horror filling him. His Master had always allowed him to be a free servant because he had never doubted his total and complete willingness to kill. But now he was unwilling…he almost detested it.

What had changed? Why had this happened?

His eyes widened in realization. He spun around and looked at the boy who now stood blank faced not ten feet behind him on the path.

Had it been the boy? Was it this boy that had changed him? Made him think these thoughts?

The boy, frozen on the path, did not react as the Sorcerer drew closer, he did not flinch when the cold hand touched his human flesh, he did not resist as he was forced to look into the eyes of the man-no monster that had killed his friends, family and neighbors.

He frowned when nothing in the boy's, now clouded, dark blue eyes gave him any clues to the questions that surged in his head.

"Why…?" He murmured more to himself than the boy.

"W-Why…"

He recoiled instinctively when the word slipped from the boy's mouth, he realized that he had been careless.

"Why?" The boy repeated his eyes not clearing. He surprised the Sorcerer when a tear rolled down his cheek, "Don't…leave me."

When he heard the words that had come from the boy's mouth he felt as if his chest had been lit on fire, his head pounded as if it ached to remember something…something he should never have forgotten.

Unable to look at the boy any longer he turned away and walked down the path, one hand clutched his chest, the other his head. He should not feel this way, he was not human, and he was not so fragile, so…_weak_ that a simple child could throw him into turmoil.

"I am not human." He growled out loud, "I am not so weak that I feel…sympathy for a lost boy!" He spat out the last word. Anger surged within him, he could feel the spell on the edge of his tongue, the word that would be the death of the boy that would be the death of his trouble.

"Where…is this?"

The words froze him in his tracks. The boy had spoken, his voice clear and precise. He looked over his shoulder at the bewildered boy waiting for the realization, the anger, then the death.

The boy looked at him with his dark blue eyes filled with confusion.

"Who are you?"

The Sorcerer sighed, "I would not expect your memory to fail you so long. Especially in the face of your greatest enemy."

"Enemy?" The boy looked around, "But…we're the only two people here."

"Yes, I was refereeing to myself." He narrowed his eyes at the boy suspicion replacing the dread he felt at the prospect of killing the child.

"…Why are we enemies?"

He did not open his mouth to respond, instead he turned and continued on his way to Shadowgate, leaving the bewildered boy behind him.

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_**Thanks for reading my story and i hope you enjoyed it!**_

_**Now just a heads up guys: You see i've got tones of other stories to update and i've got a lot of demands for them, so i don't have much time to work on this, but i'll tell you what. If i can get two new reviews for this story i'll continue to update. Now please don't think badly of me, i just need to know if anyone even wants me to continue this story in the first place. So please leave me a review and tell me how i've done. **_

_**-SpringRiverImagination**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**To awnser a question i was given in a review, the boy is thirteen years old. **_

_**Now that that's cleared up, thank you so much for your reviews! I really apreciate all your support! Now here is your long awaited third chapter!**_

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Chapter Three: Recognition

The rocky pass before him, with its narrow trail and jutting rocks, was the last thing between him and the town of Shadowgate. Normally the pass would be no concern of his, it was true that there were multitudes of dangerous creatures lying in wait in the crevices of such a place, but such creatures would not attack him for they only set their blood lusting eyes on the warm blooded bodies of humans.

This last thought caused his eyes to drift back to the boy who had ducked of the path a few yards behind him. When he saw that he couldn't help but think somewhat bitterly that this had to be the most insufferable and _presumptuous_ human he had ever come by. Not to mention stubborn.

He had deliberately taken the longest most grueling path to the Shadowgate pass that had been available to him, yet the boy had not given up or gotten lost. But more alarmingly, it seemed as though he honestly did not remember the events of the RimDale tragedy…or much else. At least it was that or the boy was extremely good at faking it. Though with a bit of thought he concluded that the latter was probably highly unlikely.

It disgusted him to think that humans were so fragile that a tragedy on such an average level would scar them, or otherwise induce _memory loss_. It was rather pathetic to say the least.

He glanced back at the hiding boy once more before shaking his head and continuing. If the creatures of the pass wished to divulge themselves to consume the worm then they could. He would make no move to stop them.

The narrow path between the two jaggedly cut rock walls made just barley room enough to allow a traveler to pass through without at least ducking and maneuvering; though the sorcerer himself found no difficulty in walking the path.

The first he noticed of the lurking monsters was the white froth that began to ooze out of the rock crevices and holes leading into the endless caverns inside the rock face.

Then he began to see the thick sponge like creatures that looked similar to sea cucumbers. They followed the trail of froth out of their holes, squeezing easily through the natural gaps in the rocks.

Bubblers. That was what humans had named them. They emerged from their dark holes, pale, boneless, and repulsive. He had never truly had a chance to lay eyes on one until now due to their fascination with warm blood and his lack thereof. He did however know that their way of killing was slow painful suffocation.

He paused and looked over his shoulder at the boy who had frozen on the path behind him.

The slug-like beasts crawled towards him their mouths gaping and foaming with greedy desire. The boy fearlessly stood his ground and watched the approach of the dangerous slugs as if he were watching tadpoles swim harmlessly in a pond.

The sorcerer expected him to take up the dagger he had used back at RimDale. To attempt to feebly defend himself against his inevitable fate. Bubblers had only one weakness. They could not be penetrated by a weapon of any caliber. Only one thing would hurt them. Only one thing…

One of the Bubblers suddenly spit out its greatest weapon. The slim that exuded from its skin and mouth.

The boy lifted a hand to protect his face causing the slim to land on the back of his hand. It caught and held tightly to his skin and would not come off when he attempted to wipe it away.

As the other Bubblers began to spit up their white slim the Sorcerer felt once again as if a memory was eating at the edges of his mind, begging to be thought of, begging to be…well…remembered.

There had been another….another like him….one so fearless you would think he was not human, yet he had been. He had been important that much was certain, but…why?

The boy's arms were now covered in the slim and the Bubblers had converged on him so that he could not turn around and flee.

He realized suddenly that he could not allow the bubblers to kill the boy. Not when discovering this piece of memory was so close. He knew that it was the boy, who had brought the memory to the surface, and he would need the boy to find the rest of the pieces. Human or not he was useful now.

Lifting his hand to point at the disgusting slugs he uttered under his breath the spell that activated that Shadowlord's magic. For the one weakness of a Bubbler, was _fire_.

Red flames scorched the path before and behind the boy as the sorcerer burned the bubblers like the beasts they were. The creatures not caught by the flames immediately recoiled and retreated away from the one thing they feared the most.

Fire.

When there was nothing left of the Bubblers but their ash the fire died away until it was nothing more than a wisp of smoke. The boy stared at him the look on his face showing his surprise.

"You…You just…" He stammered.

"Don't get ahead of yourself." He responded his voice dripping with contempt for his situation. His eyes paused on the slim that covered the boy's arms and some of his face. He recalled that the Bubblers slim are used for both suffocation and…erosion of their prey's flesh.

He watched as the boy attempted to scrap off the white coating. The only real way to peel off the hard foam was to use oil…with a low groan he turned around and began to walk towards the end of the pass.

"Move it boy." He demanded, "If you waste time back here that acid will burn your weak little arms right off."

"How do I get it off?" His question was followed by the sound of gravel moving about as he followed the sorcerer.

"_You_ won't do anything." He retorted, "_I'll_ get it off."

"How are you going to do that?"

"I don't recall granting you permission to speak to me boy."

"I think you gave me unspoken permission." The boy joked, unusually calm for someone with acid spit all over their arms, "And you can call me Jacob."

"So you _do_ remember." He should have known it was a ploy.

"Remember what? That my name is Jacob? Of course I do you just never asked." The boy cleared his throat, "Speaking of asking. So what's your name?"

The sorcerer paused as he reached the end of the pass and looked back at the insolent child that he was stuck with if only temporarily. The boy panted from scampering around the rocks and his eyes glowed with excitement.

Suddenly he was in a different scene. The boy had been replaced by another somewhat smaller human child and the rocky pass exchanged for a grassy hillside.

"What do they call you out there?" The young voice asked.

A child. The epitome of weakness, they needed to be protected and spoken softly to at all times. They were worse than normal humans. They sickened him beyond words. Yet when he saw them, his feelings of hate changed to another feeling. One he could not name.

"Oacus." He answered softly aloud to both the boy named Jacob and the unnamed boy from his memories.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Well here 's the fourth Chapter of this fanfiction! looks like they get progressivly longer as I keep writing! hope you guys enjoy!**_

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Chapter Four: In the Den of Fire

The town of Shadowgate was a dark, grim place of dangers both small and great. The walls surrounding the town were made of wooden pikes to keep monsters from climbing the sides. The people within those wooden walls were what normal humans would call, sturdy, brave souls who are kind and caring of others. Humans called them courageous and sometimes even _heroes_.

Him? He only tolerated the wretched humans was because this was the only town where he could live without being disturbed. Their ability to keep to themselves was the only redeeming trait he saw in them.

As he neared the gate with the boy (Whose name was Jacob) close behind him, the guards behind the wall shouted to each other to open the gate.

The streets of Shadowgate were as one would expect them to be, made of stone.

The rock that the town had been built on had been eroded in some places with all of its use so that the street was uneven and was treacherous for those using carts.

One thing was certain; the town certainly wasn't an architectural masterpiece.

Oacus started down the main road heading for the familiar back street that would lead him to his destination. The last thing he expected was the young voice he heard behind him.

"You have Bubbler fluid on your arms and face." He turned about to face whoever had spoken.

A little blonde haired girl stood blocking the boy's path. She wore a frown on her young face and her small hand was pointing at the white foam on his arms and face.

"Ah…yeah." The boy responded with a slightly pained smile.

"Don't get distracted." Oacus commanded calmly, putting on his "regular human" façade for the local girl. There was no point in showing his hatred when he would have to live in the town and put up with the repercussions.

"Right." The boy gave her a smile and a nod before walking around her and following the Sorcerer who had already continued walking.

"That stuff is dangerous. My Mother says it burns your skin off if you don't get it off." The girl spoke as she followed them down the road.

Oacus stopped suddenly and turned on heel to look back at the girl who was rapidly approaching the point of getting on his last nerve, "And where is this Mother of which you speak?" He did not allow his voice to show one hint of his irritation.

"She's dead." The abrupt answer did not disturb him in the least, but he could tell instantly that the boy was affected by this.

"D-Dead?" He repeated.

"Yup. And so is my Father." Again her nonchalant tone of voice seemed to shake the boy's emotions. _Yes_, he thought bitterly, _sturdy kind people indeed._

"What about your parents?" The girl asked curiously.

"My...parents?"

Cursing himself for letting the conversation get this far Oacus began to walk on up the street, "If you don't follow me, then you can find your own solution to the foam." He growled back at the boy.

Oacus felt the boy's hesitation, sensed his uncertainty.

Despite that after a moment he heard him jog to catch up.

The Sorcerer turned a corner at the end of the main road leading straight through the town and walked down one of the few other roads until he came to a relatively large house that stood in facing the Barrier Mountains.

He walked up the few steps that led to the door. Without the use of a key the locked door swung open before him. He entered the somewhat dusty, but otherwise pristine hallway beyond the doorway. He waited impatiently as the boy followed him through the door slowly as to take in the scenery.

His front hall was filled on both sides with towering ceiling-high bookshelves that contained age old documents that could be traced straight back to the time of Adin. The end of the hall branched out into three other options. The one on the left led to a rarely used (if ever) kitchen, the one on the right led to a dark den, and the third was the staircase that you came to if you kept walking straight. Those stairs led to a three bedroom hall he basically ignored.

The door eased shut behind the boy once again moving on its own. Oacus pulled off his travel worn white cloak and dropped it neatly on the standing coat rack to the left of his door. Beneath the cloak he wore shockingly regular cloths. A grey tunic and a pair of black pants, the normality of it made the boy's mouth drop open.

Ignoring his stupidity Oacus walked into his house and turned right at the end of the hall. When he stepped into his den he lit the candles and fireplace with but a thought a murmured word.

The den was the closest thing Oacus had to a personal Sanctuary. With the ceiling-high bookshelves covering every way as they did his hallway and the ancient velvet couch before the fire that had been made for an even more ancient king whose name he had long forgotten. Antiques of all kinds lined the long table in the center of the room, a thick lush carpet covered the floor and medicines and oddities of all varieties filled the glass cabinet that hung above his mantle.

"Sit down." He ordered taking a moment to glare at the boy before reaching into the cabinet to find whatever remedy he knew of to get rid of the hardening foam.

The boy became so absorbed in staring at the books and antiques around him as he waited that he never noticed the black oozing hand reaching for his neck until it was lit on fire just by his ear.

He leaped out off the couch and backed away from the velvet seat.

Behind the couch it seemed as though the very darkness of the room has been set ablaze, except of course for the fact that darkness doesn't shout insults as it burns.

…Or at least he thought they were _meant _to be insults.

"Stop this right now you unsightly eyesore!" The dark figure cried in a voice dripping with outrage, "You can't treat me like this!"

"Was the ground cold when you crawled out from under your rock this morning Resh?"

"No actually it was hot. Extremely hot."

"W-Who—?"

But Oacus ignored the implied question and grabbed the boy's wrist. In one hand he held a clear glass bottle of golden colored oil and a white cloth. He poured the oil generously on the white foam and the boy watched as the hard casing slowly returned to liquid form. The Sorcerer used the white cloth to wipe the liquid foam off his skin and into the fireplace where it fizzed, making the flame flare up for and instant before dying back down.

He went on for a few minutes pouring oil and cleaning off the rest of the gunk. Then he stored the oil back in his cabinet and dropped the dirty rag into the fire letting it meet the same end as the foam.

"Master!" The dark form begged, "Forgive me! I didn't know he was a guest!"

"Finally your tone becomes fitting to our relationship."

"Forgive me Master!" it cried again.

As suddenly as it had appeared the fire in the room beyond the couch died with nothing left of it but a light puff of smoke.

"Now return to you work Resh, and bother me no further." Oacus commanded harshly. The dark being to which the Sorcerer spoke crawled out from behind the couch so the fireplace light flickered onto him.

The boy barley held back a gasp when he saw the four pitch black long spindly legs that protruded from the body of a wolf-like creature. At least the head of the beast looked like a wolf with its long snout, sharp eyes and perked ears. The rest resembled for a spider body.

"Geez you shouldn't try so hard Master, I couldn't possibly like you any less…." The creature named Resh grumbled under his breath.

"I'm in no mood you impudent—"

But the black form disappeared from the room before he could finish.

In the silence that commenced the boy suddenly realized with full force, that he was in the house of Sorcerer.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Alright guys! I've got a long trip in the morning so i'm posting early! Enjoy!**_

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Chapter Five: The Mysterious Visitor

Jacob had only been within the walls of the strange house for about an hour by the time the Sorcerer grew unbearably sick of him. The boy did nothing but sit idly on the couch staring at the fire. The only other thing he did was jump every time Resh made a noise upstairs, and that was even more annoying than him just sitting still.

"Leave this place at once." He growled cursing himself for allowing the boy access to his most precious place.

He expected the boy to protest, to make up some reason why he should stay, to try and impress the Sorcerer with something he could do—something that he thought might make him useful.

None of those things rose in the air between the Sorcerer and the human. Instead the boy stood from the couch, ignoring the stinging pain in the raw patches of his arms, and made his way back to the hall and towards the door. Of course Oacus made no attempt to stop him and in only a few moments he found himself otherwise alone in his house once more.

"What's with chasing him off like that?" The hissing voice of his dark servant erupted from the shadows of the staircase.

"Silence." He commanded in a lower voice than usual, "Do not test my patience, I'm in no mood."

The shadows moved slightly as Resh shook his dog-like head, confused at his Master's strange attitude, "Sometimes Master I'm not too sure what makes you tick." The voice receded until it was only a whisper, "But I hope it's a bomb."

Jacob drifted like a sad ghost through the town of Shadowgate. He wasn't sure where he should go or where he could go. His mind was a clean slate with hardly any memories to speak of. He didn't know how he had lost his memory, but then again that was the point of losing one's memory wasn't it? You simply didn't remember, and until what you had forgotten came back you were lost.

As lost as he was now.

Maybe following a misanthropic, pyromaniac hadn't been such a great idea, but hey, it had been his only option.

He turned onto the main street of the small fenced town, a somewhat bustling place with plenty of people moving about. His eyes caught those of a small girl. It was the very same small girl that had spoken to him when he was following Oacus. The little girl caught sight of him as well and with a serious face she waved him over to her.

"How are your arms?" She asked with a frown.

_Should girls as young as her be so serious? _He thought to himself staring at her stern eyes, "They're better."

"Good. And where are you staying for the night?"

"I….well you see I was—"

She held up a hand to cut him off, "My aunt runs the only inn within the walls of Shadowgate." She pointed across the street as she spoke to the building that stood larger than the rest and had a greater amount of traffic at its doors, "You can sleep there tonight. My aunt will let you stay for free if you clean tonight's dinner dishes."

"Well thank you, but I—"

"You can thank me by getting over there and taking a room." The young girl turned from him abruptly and marched down the street, skipping over every puddle in her path.

Jacob stood where she had left him for several minutes thinking over what she had offered him before he actually made a move to make for the door of the inn. In the end he did indeed take the girl's advice and head across the street. What was so bad about cleaning a few dishes?

The inn was like a boiling pot of turmoil with what seemed like the whole town's population crammed into the first floor diner. Every man and woman that could be heard above the din was shouting their order to one of the two waiters that seemed to flow expertly around the crowds to deliver their steaming platters of food.

He tried and failed at least three times to squeeze though the crowd before he finally made it to the large counter at the back of the room which served as both a bar and check in desk for the inn. When he finally made it there he waved a large woman over and practically yelled to be heard over the uproar behind him.

"Where can I find the owner?"

"You're looking at her kid. The name's Piura."

The woman had wiry black hair with streaks of gray running though it, her eyes were sharp and her face hard. Jacob could see where her daughter got her serious physique.

"Your daughter told me that you would let me stay the night if I—"

"If you wash the dishes?" The woman interrupted, "Yes and if that's what you're in for, you can start right now. The kitchen's though that door, the cook will point you in the right direction."

So for the next three hours, Jacob stood—or sat—before a large bin of soppy water in the back room of the inn, scrubbing clean the dirty dishes of the dinner surge. Darkness had fallen over the already shadowed town of Shadowgate by the time he emerged from the back room drying his pruned fingers.

The front room was empty of customers and the chairs of the tables were all turned up for the night. The woman who had given him the job stood behind the counter writing something in a large book.

When she saw him she nodded and tossed a silver key across the space between them to his waiting hands, "First door on the left, you've earned it kid."

"Thank you." Jacob sighed gratefully and turned to head up the stairs. His hand had just touched the railing when one of the doors of the inn creaked open. He looked over his shoulder to see who had come in so late and his tired eyes instantly grew wide.

Standing there just inside the inn's front room was a man who was obviously a traveler. He wore a thick blue cloak over his shoulders; the cloak was adorned with small bright stars of white dotted across it giving the impression of the night sky. His hair was black and his eyes a bright blue. On his back he had a bow and many arrows, and around his waist he wore a belt that held the weight of a great variety of weapons which though strange was not Jacob's reason for staring at the man. The alarming thing about the man was the streak of red that stained the otherwise green shirt he wore beneath his cloak.

He walked into the room stumbling slightly on his way to the counter. "Evening." His greeting was spoken in a low tone that gave off no hint of pain that the blood on his cloths suggested.

"Evening traveler." Piura nodded to him appearing to ignore the blood, "We don't get many visitors here in Shadowgate, but every one of them is a blessing. How can I help you?"

"How much for a room?" He asked pulling something from his pocket.

"I'm terribly sorry, but tonight is…something of a holiday for the people of Shadowgate. The people in town rented all the rooms for celebration events earlier today." Piura's eyes showed genuine pity for the man, but nothing further.

The man was silent for a moment before turning with a sigh to the door.

"He could share my room…" Jacob offered halfheartedly, unsure of the idea that he had spoken.

The man turned slowly to look at him then looked at Piura, "How large is his room?"

The woman shrugged, "Large enough for two I suppose."

"Thank you." The words were meant for both Piura and Jacob.

Jacob waited as the man made his way to the stairs, dragging his feet slightly, and then led him to the room Piura had indicated. He placed the silver key in the lock and jerked the door open. Within there was a simple room with a bed, small desk and chair. It was small but at the same time decently sized for two people.

The man dropped onto the desk chair as Jacob shut the door behind them. Talking and music could be heard from the other occupied rooms at the inn, but it didn't totally pierce the walls around him and the noise remained far away. He lay down on the bed and closed his eyes to rest.

He had barley gotten a minuet's rest when a loud thump woke him. The traveler had pulled off his cloak and weapons and dropped them upon the floor, the blood stain on his shirt had spread slightly and the man's face now displayed the pain he was in.

The man reached into the leather pouch at his waist that Jacob had not noticed before and took a small bottle from it. The bottle was filled with a grey paste that he found was disgusting to look at. Placing the bottle on the desk the man pulled his red stained shirt off of him revealing the horrific wound beneath.

The gash cut clean across his chest and seemed to be only a day or so old. And though the man seemed to have it well under control he marveled at how much strength it must take to be able to overcome such a wound.

"Hey. You're still awake aren't you?" The man whispered again hiding the pain that must be excruciating.

"Yes sir." He answered honestly.

"Good, I haven't had a decent conversation with a real human being in months." He chuckled softly at his own words then coughed sharply. Jacob watched as he used the grey paste on the wound and began to speak, "Well I can guess you aren't from around here considering how different you and the locals look. So let's start with that. Where did you come from?"

He looked up and stared at the ceiling, "I don't remember."

"Awkward question then. How about your name? What is it?"

"What's yours?" Jacob looked at the stranger suddenly cautious of his nonchalant attitude.

The man laughed only to cut himself off and cringe at the pain, "Touché my young friend." He whispered, apparently unwilling to speak loudly for fear of agitating his wound, "My name is Tyr. And I am a Toran."


	6. Chapter 6

**_Here it is! The new chapter nice and early! Hope you guys enjoy. Also i would just like to thank all of you reading and reviewing this story, i never thought this story would be very popular._**

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****Chapter Six: Discarded Memories

"_What do they call you out there?" _

_The boy's voice echoed in the darkness until it had disappeared._

"_I already told you. I shouldn't have to repeat myself."_

_The voice that responded gave off a kind feeling, one of comfort and warmth. It to echoed for a few moments._

"_He may have forgotten, but I haven't!"_

_The third voice was a girl's. It was small and excited, an obviously reckless child, yet one filled with emotions of compassion and love._

"_Oh really? And what was it?" The second asked the girl in an amused tone._

"_The Sorcerer Oacus!"_

His eyes gradually opened to the still silence of his den. The fireplace was cold and flameless and every candle in the room had not a flicker of life in them. They had not burned themselves out—that was impossible for enchanted flames.

No, the fire had died out when it had felt its Master's dream. The dream of humans and emotions. The impossible dream.

The treasonous dream.

He made no move to relight the waiting fireplace or the white candles on all sides of him. Instead he sat still on the couch of his den and stared at the charred stone he kept on his mantel. It would appear to the blind eye that the stone was simply no more than another piece of the fireplace, but the truth of the matter was that it was a precious gem.

Behind the black ash that covered it, the small palm sized rock blaze in multicolored brilliance. It had come from the plains and was a stone that told of the future. It was an opal.

Oacus recalled that at one point he had seen…_something_ when he touched the stone. Only it hadn't been a scene of great triumph or immense calamity as the opal was known for giving.

It had been a single image, one that to the current time was still a shadow in his mind. Despite not being certain of what the image was, he knew that it was somehow connected to the Shadow Lord's anger and could not rid himself of the notion that the image had something to do with him.

It was the dream that made him think of the image now.

A servant of the Shadow Lord should have no fear, and no compassion. Yet he sat here and dreamt of such human things.

"Master." Resh grumbled into the darkness by the door of to the den. The Sorcerer away from the stone and into the face of his servant his own eyes concealing the thought that had consumed him mere second before.

Seeing his sullen state and the darkness of the room, Resh changed tones and turned to a more respectful air, "I thought I should inform you that Shadowgate has received another visitor tonight. He's causing quite the buzz from the people."

"…Is he that Jalis from before?"

"No Master, it isn't one of your adversaries, neither is it someone I've seen before, but I figured it might be important. After all, how many visitors does Shadowgate usually have?"

"It may as well be none." He replied. Then as an afterthought, "What of the boy I sent away? Has he left Shadowgate?"

"It appears not Master."

Oacus looked at the cold fireplace and stared at it and had just began to lose himself in thought when Resh made a rasping noise he knew to be "clearing his throat"

"Remove yourself from my sight then you loathsome creature." He growled.

"Yes Master." His servant's voice hissed as he backed away from the dark den.

(+)

Jacob's eyes flew open. His heart raced and his breath quickened. He had just woken from a nightmare cloaked in blazing flames and the horrid screams of the dead. He lay in bed trying to reassure himself that it had just been a dream, not anything true to life. But he could not shake the cold feeling of dread that filled him in the darkness of the inn room.

He sat up slowly in bed and wiped the perspiration from his forehead noticing immediately that he was covered in sweat. He tried desperately not to think of the nightmare and forced himself to ignore the lingering knot in his stomach it had left. For several minutes he simply sat in bed rubbing the sides of his head and murmuring to himself, but it wasn't long before he could stand no more of it. He stood out of bed and threw on his cloths, uncaring of the early hour, and turned to head for the door. He paused a moment to look at the figure slumped over on the desk if nothing else to make sure he was still breathing.

The Toran had not given much to the conversation the night previous, in fact barley a few words after introducing himself he had fallen asleep seeming to only stay awake long enough to hear the name of the boy he boarded with. Jacob had been forced to save his questions for a later time.

He opened the door to the room and exited. His hopes were that Piura would let him stay longer for more dishwashing that seemed to be his only option at the moment.

When he reached the first floor and saw the dark room and empty space behind the counter he realized that it must be extremely early. So with a sigh he pulled down one of the chairs from atop its table and sat prepared to wait however long he had to.

As he sat there in the empty room he found himself lost in thoughts of his shadow past and the Sorcerer he had followed here. What had driven him to follow the man? Why couldn't he remember much about himself?

Images that could only be memories of his life swirled around in his head. They were of simple things like picking berries in a forest with an unnamed girl, jumping in a river with unseen friends, and sitting down to dinner around a small table filled to the breaking point with family members that he could no longer recall the faces of.

What had become of the people he was remembering? Where were they right now? He begged his mind to remember something—anything—that would tell him the answer.

A flash of red clouded his vision before returning to the regular sights of the inn.

He held a hand against his throbbing head and pushed his churning thoughts away. He would think about them later, for now he would focus on his next move. Just getting a job and being able to stay somewhere.

The fierce growl in his stomach told him that he should find a source for food as well. Suddenly he realized that he couldn't remember the last time he had eaten anything.

"Perfect…" He exhaled deeply, "A new problem is just what I needed…"

"What's the new problem?" Jacob glanced over at the owner of the hushed voice that had wafted from the staircase.

As he has guessed it was his roommate Tyr who had spoken. The man had already descended half of the stairs and was attempting to try his hand at the next half, his face and black hair were slightly damp with sweat and he seemed somewhat out of breath, but otherwise he looked unscathed by the wound in his chest. Tyr had apparently abandoned the fancy cloak and weapons in his shared room and instead had come wearing just the cloths underneath the cloak.

He made his way to the table Jacob was seated at and pulled a chair down for himself. He waited until he was comfortably settled in his chair before addressing Jacob again, "I don't mean to be nosy of course, I was just curious."

A small silence proceeded Tyr's words and in that silence Jacob's mind buzzed with the questions he wanted to ask the man. So ignoring the question Try had presented he blurted one of the questions he had,

"What is a Toran?"

"…Wait….What?"

"What is a Toran?" he repeated patiently. Maybe Toran's weren't smart.

"Um…You know the tribe that lives on the banks of the River Tor….Who doesn't know that?" Tyr looked at him questioningly.

"How did you get that slash?"

"Well it was caused by a sword made of Gripper teeth…"

"And what are you doing in Shadowgate?"

Tyr laughed quietly, "You've gotten quite talkative all of the sudden kid. A tad bit nosy too….more so than even me."

Jacob shrugged, "Well I'm just curious…"

The Toran seemed to fall into thought. His eyes grew distant and his hand gripped the edge of the table, "I came here because I'm searching for something….something important…"

(+)

Oacus stood in what was just a simple ordinary bedroom. Or it would have been ordinary if it wasn't located directly above the dark den of a Sorcerer.

He hadn't dared to light even one of the dusty candles perched about the room; he was not willing to spark even the smallest memories of the toy cluttered room he stood in. He focused his eyes instead on the large wooden chest by the bed. The dust that flew when he opened it didn't faze him in the least. The Sorcerer reached in, pushing past that meaningless cloths and items, and took hold of the thin chain at the very bottom.

When he pulled out the golden locket he didn't bother to look inside. He turned from the chest and the cluttered room and walked into the hall beyond It. Ignoring the swift taps that sounded the approach of his servant he descended the stairs and returned to his den.

He had kept the golden locket for far too long. The memories—the _human_ memories—it held within it had begun to follow him even into his dreams; he would stand for it no longer.

The fireplace roared as he stood before it, locket in hand. He stared into the leaping flames and for just a moment his thought drifted to the boy.

It seemed more likely that it was the boy's fault for his wandering focus and not the trinket that had been until now rusting in a chest in a room he never visited. It was possible that what he needed to get rid of was really the boy, so there was truly no need to destroy the locket…

"Master?" Resh tapped almost noiselessly down the stairs. Oacus noticed the questioning tone in the creature's voice and jerked out of his thoughts.

His hand clenched over the yellow metal and in a moment of irritation he threw the locket into the fire. It flared up then settled into melting the old metal. Oacus turned from the fireplace and growled out a short spell. Fire erupted before him blazing brightly then dying down until it was in the forms of two fiery birds.

They had long and bladed talons and curved sharp beaks, their feathers were white and red and their eyes were a deep black. They both sat perched side by side on the back of his couch, the one on the left obviously larger than the one on the right. The larger of the two had a deep crack in his beak while the small seemed unscathed by past battles.

"You summoned us Milord." The larger crackled.

"What can we do in service of you today Milord?" The smaller hissed.

"There's a boy in Shadowgate." Oacus said slowly, "He will be easy enough to find considering he does not belong here."

The two birds gave eachother sideways looks before looking the Sorcerer in the eye, "And what is our step after we find this boy Milord?" The smaller inquired.

"…Kill him"


	7. Chapter 7

_**Hey guys! Here's your chapter update for Sorcerer Oacus! Sorry it took so long, i missplaced my USB port that held all my fanfictions on it...Anyhow enjoy the chapter and be sure to give me your opinions! As always i look forward to hearing what you think and can't wait to show you what happens next!**_

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Chapter Seven: The Phoenix Visit

Jacob spent most of his day in the kitchen, cleaning more dishes than he could count. It seemed to him that he had washed the same green plate with a notch at least forty times. But of course he would rather clean than sleep on the street of Shadowgate. It was well into the afternoon when he stepped out into the front room on a brief break.

His fingers were shriveled and his wrists ached when he dropped into a chair at one of the tables. Seated across from him at the table was Tyr, who had not moved from his seat since coming down from the inn room that morning. He had a half empty cup before he and seemed to be staring into space.

"I don't know if I can look at another dish…." Jacob groaned covering his eyes.

Tyr blinked then looked from Jacob to his cup, "Well…I don't know that I can drink any slower…"

"That only prolongs the inevitable…" The kid sighed, "I'm going to have to clean it one way or another."

"How was your night?" Jacob looked sharply to his left at the unexpected sound of the girl's voice.

Her blonde hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail and her dark red eyes were as serious as always. She seemed to be eyeing Tyr though she was addressing Jacob.

"It was fine." He looked from her to Tyr who was staring back at the girl.

"Is this a friend of yours?" Tyr asked as he lifted his drink to his mouth.

"Um…sort of…."

"How can we be friends if you don't even know my name?" She looked at Jacob her face humorless.

"Well you never told me you—"

"Exactly."

"Ok so she's more of acquaintan—"

"It's Terra."

Jacob gave a slightly exasperated sigh, "Well it was nice of you to properly introduce yourself."

"What about you? What's your name?" Terra pulled a chair over to their table and sat down still maintaining the same emotionless physique.

"Jacob." This time he smiled when he spoke his friendly disposition kicking in.

She uttered the next words with a slight edge in her voice, "And what about the Toran you've taken company with?"

"Um…" Jacob looked across the table at Tyr whose eyes had not move from staring at the girl, "This is Tyr."

"Well Tyr." She shifted her gaze to him her voice dripping with toxic animosity though her face remained stone cold, "I hope you are better a fighter than your name implies."

Tyr did not respond to the girl's obvious attempt at angering him, instead he stood up from the table and strode to the staircase not even bothering a glance back at his offender.

"Coward…" she whispered plainly after he was out of earshot.

"So…." Jacob returned his gaze to her.

"So shouldn't you get back to cleaning?"

He looked perturbed by the thought of returning to the kitchen, but stood up obediently and with sigh turned to the kitchen door.

Suddenly he went cold and tense; a chill that shook his entire body ran up his spine.

They entered the now empty inn through the open windows bringing with them a storm of frigid air, the stink of death, and a burning hate that reverberated through the room.

Jacob turned slowly to face the fiery feathered creatures that each stood perched on the back of two of the many chairs sitting about. Their midnight colored eyes were deep as a void and fixed upon him. Their talons griped the chairs with obvious crushing force as cracks became visible around where their claws were placed.

The larger of the two birds cocked his head slightly, "This is the boy?"

The smaller lifted a single talon claw and pointed at Jacob, "He is the boy."

Jacob's heart thudded furiously in his chest and a sense of terror grew within him as he stared the creatures straight in the eye. He found that no matter what he did he couldn't pull away from the piecing gaze of the larger bird.

An inhuman screech erupted from the beak of the smaller and as it leapt from the back of its chair to dive though the air towards him.

"Move!" He heard Terra yell. Only his body would not respond to her command nor his own.

As the talon of the monster reached for his throat his mind flashed to a scene of unbearable heat and screams that echoed in his ears until they hurt. Frozen with the fear of the creature and the horror of what his memories had to show him he could not move to avoid the talon that sought to end his life.

The next cry did not come from a suddenly silenced Jacob, but from the creature rushing though the air to him. It's cry of pain was so harsh that made Jacob cover his ears as he gazed at the ax that had suddenly embedded itself in the wing of the bird, his eyes wide with shock.

The creature hit the floorboards in a burst of flames and horrible screeches.

"Are you alright?"

Jacob looked up at Tyr, his hands shaking, "Thank you…"

(-)

She held a bow in one hand while keeping her other hand at the quiver on her back. Her sharp green eyes were locked on the town below her.

Shadowgate had a respectable fence surrounding it that would keep any monster—short of a Dragon or Ak-baba—out. They had thought of nearly everything for their defenses.

Only they hadn't factored in an archer climbing the razor-sharp, jutting rocks of the Barrier Mountains. And why should they? Who would be crazy enough to do such a thing, who would be so determined to kill someone within the walls of Shadowgate that they would risk their very life and limb to get a bird's eye view?

The coins that she had been paid jingled at her belt giving an easy reason.

The money had been good.

She watched as a two obvious phoenixes burst from the inn of Shadowgate. Her eyes caught on the sight of red on one's wing and she knew they were fighting an accurately trained warrior.

"The well trained ones are my favorites…" She whispered pulling an arrow from her quiver and drawing it back in her bow string.

The phoenixes retreated swiftly to the skies riding an easterly wind away from the town and as she watched they both exploded into flames leaving nothing behind save for a bit of ash they drifted in the wind in their place.

She let her hand slack and slid the arrow back in her quiver. Her eyes drifted in disappointment to the seemingly Toran man standing in the street searching the skies for the enemies he had just be fighting.

"Looks like you'll have to wait I'm afraid." She slid the bow over her shoulder, "I have a Sorcerer to track."


	8. Chapter 8

_**Here's the next chapter guys! I hope you enjoy it and as usual don't forget to tell me what you think! (I love hearing for all of you, You guys are the best!) Now i've been asked this before so i figured i'd just awnser here, my favorite charcter to write about here is Tyr!**_

Chapter Eight: A Naive Trust\The Trust of a Friend

The people of Shadowgate all filed out of their houses one by one and onto the main road to see what the commotion at the inn had been all about, each person had already drawn their own assumptions of what the trouble was and mostly their assumptions involved the two strangers that had recently interrupted the routine they had all gotten used to. This instant suspicion was to be expected, and it hadn't totally been wrong.

They were partly right.

Tyr picked up the ax that had fallen from the wing of the creature and landed on the road, he appeared to be disregarding the gathering crowd and instead focusing on once again blocking out the pain from his healing wound.

"Piura." One woman called from the crowd, "What in the world happened here?"

"I'll be honest and say I'm not fully sure." Piura answered in a gruff voice as she assessed the damage to her inn entrance along with the broken window that had served as an escape route for the monsters.

"Did you break her property boy?" Another man from the crowd called out to Tyr in a tone that was serious and hard though not unrightfully cruel.

"My apologies." Tyr stated in a polite tone, "I did not intend to—"

"You hardly have reason to apologize." Piura interrupted clapping his shoulder with her hand, "I imagine my inn would have been worse off if you hadn't stepped in." Then with a side glance at Jacob she added,"Plus I would be short a kitchen hand."

"Then what did happen?" A woman asked bewildered that there was no one to take responsibility for what had been done.

"The inn was attacked by beasts that had birdlike appearances. No doubt they were some sort of phoenix." Piura concluded confident in her assumptions.

"I'll bet it was that accursed man who brought this upon us!" another woman yelled, but was instantly shushed by her husband.

In sudden realization to how easy they were to overhear on the road, Piura gestured for the people to follow her back into the inn, "Best we spoke of such serious matters in doors."

He followed behind Tyr and Terra as they too headed into the inn to speak further. Tyr started to head for the front of the growing crowd where he would best be able to hear Piura speak when Terra grabbed his elbow and forcefully pulled him up the staircase to the inn rooms on the upper floor. Jacob half expected, with the suggestion earlier that Tyr and Terra did not get along, the Toran to pull away from her or in some way reject her, but Tyr let her drag him up the stairs and into the dark empty hall way at the top of it as Jacob trailed on behind them unsure that he should.

Terra paused at the door of their room and looked behind her, "Which one of you holds the key to your room?" Tyr held it out to her though Jacob wondered for a moment when he had gotten it.

She continued on into the room and let go of Tyr to go back and lock the door behind them after their third member had entered. She then proceeded to grab Jacob and push him down to sit on the bed her young eyes flashing in the light that was coming through the window with a burning annoyance that somehow did not affect the serious demeanor that remained on her face even now.

"So which one of you is going tell me why those things _broke_ in here to kill _him_?" Her small finger pointed accusingly at Jacob when she said this and though her voice did not tremble with fear at the memory of the creatures, to him it seemed like it should.

Tyr sat at the desk chair with a sigh and placed his ax down on the floor under it, "Don't look at me, he hasn't told me a single thing worth re-mentioning."

"But you two are friends aren't you?" She asked her voice striking an annoyed note.

"We just met yesterday actually, and men—if I may be so bold—who've only known each other for roughly twenty-four hours don't pour out life stories to one another; much, apparently, to the contrary of a woman's beliefs on the matter." He leaned back in his chair in an attempt to ease off the pain in his chest.

"A poor delivery, but point taken." Terra admitted bitterly before turning to Jacob and commanding, "Speak then."

"Well I…" He began unsure of what must be said.

"Oh I do recall one thing." Tyr added thoughtfully, "Last night when I asked where he came from, he answered oddly enough that 'He didn't know'."

"Your point was crushed underneath your stupidity."

"Really? I thought the answer vague enough for the circumstances, not at all awkward."

"Crushed like a Bubbler after it's been torched."

"I've not an inkling of what you mean by that. What _is_ a Bubbler?" Tyr purposefully spoke in a strangely accented voice with a slight smile on his face as if he were enjoying toying with the girl.

"Ah never mind." Terra broke off her chain of insults and looked back at Jacob her face having never left it serious frame, "What did you mean by what you told him?"

"Well I don't remember much of anything about myself…" He admitted slowly, "Aside from my name and a few things I think _might_ be real…"

"In other words you have no idea why those birds would be trying to murder you." She concluded for him.

"Yeah…"

She fell into her thoughts for a moment as she gazed out the single window of the room. Jacob allowed his eyes to wander from her to the window she was staring out of.

The sun was high in the sky though not much of its light reached the window itself, but instead lingered on only the road leading through Shadowgate. The way its light reflected off one of the roves within the sight of his window reminded him very much of a trail of fire on a path of oil. The thought brought a shiver to his body.

"Why were you with that man when you entered town?"

Her question had been anticipated by him before she had opened her mouth to speak the words to ask. It was the obvious thing to question seeing as it _had_ been a strange happening.

So he explained to them how the first memory that came to mind now when he dug for past happenings was him walking on a slightly overgrown path following a good distance behind the strange man named Oacus though he had no recollection of how he had come to be doing so or why.

He concluded with an explanation on how Oacus had taken him into his house and assisted him in removing the Bubbler foam from his arms before kicking him out.

"You're absolutely sure you saw him use fire to help you with the Bubblers?" Terra clarified calmly, "Without stopping to light anything?"

"Yes." Jacob nodded.

"I've never heard of people in the north using magic." Tyr murmured thoughtfully, "Not extensively anyway, not with magic worth mentioning."

"Not like the magic you Toran's use is what you were trying to say there, right?" Terra hissed.

"No, that was not what I was trying to say. Stop trying to paint me out with a bad character." Tyr defended.

"Anyway, the news that Jacob just brought me confirms my suspicion that he isn't normal." She glanced back out the window, "I've always thought he must be an evil man, locked away in that house of his all the time and never coming out for anything save to leave."

"Has anyone ever seen the inside of his house?" Tyr asked her his voice peculiarly soft, "Aside from Jacob."

"No, he's the first. I've tried quite a few times to break in while he's not in Shadowgate but I never have been able to find a way in."

The room submerged into another silence this time to listen to the sudden din that rose from the crowd gathered below as a statement that was not appreciated was made.

"…It may be…." Tyr began looking from Jacob then to Terra, "It may be the he is the one to blame for the phoenix's appearance. After all he seems to have some sort of affiliation with fire so I don't see why that would be totally out of the question."

Both of the two who had heard Tyr's words had to agree that what he said made sense, but Jacob would not be taken to give more than that.

"I don't think he would do that for no reason at all." He stated confidently, "He helped me after all when he didn't have to. So in return I'll at least give him the benefit of the doubt."

This received sighs from Tyr and Terra, but neither protested his decision.

(+)

"You shouldn't get so lost in thought Master." Resh seemed to purr from the shadows, "You're a stranger there, you may never come back."

The creature's usual pestering did not bother the Sorcerer this time. He was too focused fully on the whispering flames in the fireplace before the velvet couch where he sat.

Nix and Nie had been his most trusted servants for many a year now and he had never thought they would fail him so horribly so the outcome of the mission he had sent them on genuinely surprised him, but he also found that it brought him great relief.

A sense of foreboding had now begun to fill him and it grew by the moment. Something was amiss within him and though he could not yet tell what it was he knew that he would not be able to take the truth of it. He hated himself for being weak enough to believe such a thing, but he would be a fool to deny the true threat that was encroaching into his silent heart.

He stood and made his way to the hall outside his den room door.

Resh quickly retreated into the dark kitchen as if fearing his barrage of ridiculous insults had finally warranted him the wrath of his Master.

As an alternative he watched as Oacus threw on his waiting cloak and adjusted the hood firmly over his face.

"I'm going to deal with a problem Resh, keep the house while I'm gone."


	9. Chapter 9

_**Hey guys. Sorry I took so long with this chapter, this week has been long and hard for me. I got sick, then had family troubles...you understand? Also I put my other stories on a hiatus until I finish this and some other stuff (For more details on that you can visit my profile). Anyway I tried to not put in any contractions in this chapter, Crystal Silvera informed me that in the books they were not really used in dialogue so I challenged myself. Tell me how I did! And as always don't forget to review the chapter!**_

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Chapter Nine: Reason and Longing

She paused in her trek to glance up through the break in the trees at the looming mountain that cast its shadow of disregarded memories upon her. Her gaze was filled with hate rather than the pleasant nostalgia most would have felt at the sight of the place they had grown within. But the mountains winding caverns, etched walls, and horded treasures held nothing, but regret and scorn in her eyes.

"Dread Mountain…" She breathed in irritation of being so near to the accursed place.

Her hunt of the Sorcerer's bird pawns had taken her further west than she had intended to go…she would have to demand a bonus because suddenly the gems her employer had promised were not quite worth the trouble he was putting her through.

Shaking her head clear of thoughts connected to Dread Mountain or her life before it, she continued through the forest this time heading in the southern direction to avoid further contact with the mountain.

Tracking the birds had been anything but easy thanks to their Master's paranoid precautions, but the light gray sifted ash that she kept finding sprinkled on plants and dirt told the story all to plainly if one had the careful hunters eye that she did. What she couldn't figure out was why there was even a true trail at all.

She had assumed she would be following the faint scent of their burning wings, or the burning drop of blood that would tell her discreetly that the injured birds had passed through in their invisible flight to return to their Master. Those methods of tracking would have been a pain, but they also would not have made her as wary as she was now.

"This is too easy…." She hissed to herself.

The grass a few feet behind her shifted in a way that could only be a living thing moving through it. She spun around, bow and arrow firmly in hand, but when her sharp eyes met her foe she couldn't help but look heavenward in pure annoyance.

The built woman who stood behind her wore a telltale frown that allowed the ardent hunter to interpret that their ever "present" employer had sent her here to find the hired tracker.

"Do I really need to tell you why I am here Ta'ahine?" The Jalis woman grunted, eyeing the weapon in her hands.

With an exasperated sigh Ta'ahine lowered her bow and tucked away her arrow, "Gael wishes to tests my patience."

"He only wishes for the best way to end this hunt as fast as possible so he can take his revenge." The woman corrected in her normal gruff voice.

Ta'ahine turned from her with a slight sigh and continued into through the trees, "Try not to rush senselessly through the grass Genma. If you must come then you will be silent."

Even though Genma agreed to the single term, she knew that the annoying Jalis would not be silent long and within twenty minutes of peace she had opened her mouth once again.

"I have been curious about this for the longest time." Genma murmured absentmindedly, "You are obviously not a Dread Gnome. So why do you have the name of one? And the archery skills of one?"

"Because I chose to learn it…" Was the quiet response.

"But why?"

Ta'ahine looked over her shoulder at the woman behind her, "Everyone has a reason behind the things they do. But they may not always be willing to tell what those reasons are."

(+)

The sun was quickly dropping, taking its light with it over the horizon. Jacob sat on the floor beside the bed of the inn room he had rented out starring at the floor that still shook slightly from the commotion below it.

They were no longer arguing about the destruction of inn property, the townspeople were instead drinking and eating of the food the establishment provided. A serious meeting had turned into a social outing to them.

Terra lay on the bed behind him writing in a journal of some sort and speaking softly to herself. Tyr sat on the desk chair before him applying another one of his jarred salves to the wound on his chest. Terra had stated that she would leave as soon as the inn cleared a bit though so far it appeared that it would be quite a long time before that happened.

A curious thought came to him as he thought of the girl behind him, "Terra." He looked over his shoulder.

"Mm?" Her hand continued rapidly inscribing words onto her paper.

"Why do you seem to…_hate_ Tyr?"

Her hand paused in its writing process and she glanced up from her paper to look at him. Her hard eyes stared into his for at least a full ten seconds before her gaze shifted to Tyr.

"Why did you come to Shadowgate?" Her inquiry sounded as if It could be the answer to his question…in a question.

Tyr placed the jar he had been using on the desk and leaned back in his chair, his face taking the same distant expression that Jacob had seen before on his face, "Why…is that important."

"I like to know who my friend is friends with." She answered simply obviously using the term _friend_ loosely.

"I…I came looking for a girl…" He began, but was rudely interrupted by Terra.

"I should have known it was something as stupidly simple as that." She sighed, "You were just chasing some self absorbed girl who was attractive enough to make you leave your impenetrable fortress filled to the brim with cowards of the—"

"She was captured." Tyr cut in darkly, "I was following the man who took her when I was…taken by surprise." His hand touched his chest and the two person audience understood what he meant.

Terra narrowed her eyes and not making any attempt to apologize for her assumption, urged him on, "Finish your story, no cliffhangers."

Tyr hesitated, but continued, "I had just come out of Rithmere and was getting close to finding him when a woman he hired attacked me. She had been following me for some time and knew exactly when to catch me off guard." He shook his head, "Her sword had been forged from Gripper fangs and…well it did not take me long to figure that out. I had just barely escaped her when I made it here."

"Who is this girl that you were trying to find?" Terra prodded, "Why do you care what happens to her?"

Tyr closed his eyes and turned away from Terra; both of them new that he would say no more.

(+)

"We are being followed by one of Gael's mercenaries, Milord." Nix hissed.

"She gains on us as we speak, Milord, bringing with her the large Jalis woman." Nie finished.

Oacus glanced up at the inn across the road from him, "How long until she finds you?"

"If we continue to move then not at least for a few more hours, Milord" Nix assured him.

"What would you have us do, Milord?" Nie questioned.

"...I cannot help you." Oacus informed them grimly, "Just make sure you take note of anything interesting about this new 'hired mercenary'."

"We understand, Milord."

"We will do so, Milord." The flame that had brought their voices to him died away and he was alone once again.

He looked back at the in. Something pulled at him, telling him to go there to find what it was that was trying to awaken within his clouded memories. Part of him yearned to follow this feeling, to discover what had eluded him for so long. But he knew that such an emotion such a…longing had no place with him.

Not anymore.


	10. Chapter 10

_**Sorry it is such a short chapter i've been so busy lately! Also Just so you guys know this chapter is somthing of a foreshadowing to the follow up fanfiction story that this will have. It is going to be called "The Seven Dragon Princes", that may help you understand somthing at the end of this chapter. So anyway guys have fun and be sure to tell me what you thought! And don't worry the next chapter will be up later this week or next week!**_

_**Oh and Merry Christmas guys (Even though it's a little late...sorry about that!) **_

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Chapter Ten: A Union Unknown

Her hand shook faintly with the strain of holding the bowstring so far back. She knelt in the tall dew covered grass, a good ways back from her unsuspecting prey. Her trained eye was fixed steadfastly on her target and her arrow aimed true. Nothing could come between her and the fiery birds now.

"If we continue to move then not at least for a few more hours, Milord" One of them croaked to a wisp of a flame.

She guessed that they spoke of her and a wave of displeasure flooded over her. Never before had a quarry underestimated her on such high degrees.

_Well they will discover their mistake rather soon…_

Ta'ahine released the bowstring just as the birds ceased speaking; her arrow flew straight into the already wounded wing of the smaller.

The two birds screeched in astonishment, the larger took to the air while the smaller thrashed in the grass in a wild attempt to remove the arrow from his wing.

The larger spun around in midair, its body bursting into flames colored white as the snow.

She jerked another arrow out of her quiver and pulled the string back expecting the birds to fight her, which would be better; game that went down without a fight wasn't worth the effort.

"Ta'ahine!" Genma barked behind her, "We need them in order to find the Sorcerer!"

"We only need one for that."

A moment after the words escaped her lips a roar shook the trees and ground with earsplitting force. The leaves and branches above them whipped around furiously in the sudden gusts of wind that crashed down from the sky beyond them.

Ta'ahine looked to the sky and caught a glimpse of vast green colored wings and a massive mouth, crammed with teeth sharper that even her own arrows. She had only seen the creatures once before in her life time and only for a split second, but its call and wingspan were unforgettable.

"Dragon."

Genma shrieked childishly behind her while the two phoenixes bravely—or foolishly—stood firm.

The beast didn't land but instead reached a large aged claw down towards the phoenixes and Ta'ahine—unwilling to allow even a Dragon to come between her and her prey—loosed an arrow straight at the reptile's stretched appendage.

The arrow hit its target at exactly the point Ta'ahine was hoping for, between the many scales covering its limb, but the reaction was not at all as she had envisioned it. The Dragon seemed not to even notice the arrow as it closed its claws around the birds that had just been within her reach.

(+)

The skies were quickly darkening above the land of Deltora so that the color it cast on the ground below was a ginger glow. The scent in the air differed depending on where you were, but for the emerald dragon and its two companions as they flew the skies nearing the shifting sands it was a breath of hit sand and burning flesh.

Nix and Nie gazed up at the dragon flying beside them causing rough turbulence. They couldn't understand why such a beast would save them from their fate because while Emerald dragons were known for their honor, generosity was not one of their more common factors. Not to mention the strange feeling of calmness that radiated off of the scaled lizard though they neared dangerously to the end of Emerald territory.

The dragon had admitted that the only reason it halted in its flight to pick up the two phoenixes was because it had been unsure of what they were. Its curiosity had driven it to save Nix and Nie.

"What manner of being are you?" The dragon inquired as they flew, "I know I have been away some time, but to my knowledge no such creature existed in these lands when I last flew them."

"We are not natural." Nie croaked.

"But then we are not unnatural." Nix added.

"The Master though would be most displeased if we indulged you further." Nie finished.

The dragon chortled in a deep throaty voice and directed its gaze with one eye upon the two birds, "I do understand that sentiment for though I would never call him by such a submissive name I have a duty to one who would disapprove of me speaking openly to another living thing."

Nix and Nie shot each other looks of revelation, a dragon with a handler?

The emerald dragon's head seemed to perk and it turned its gaze into the wind, squinting as if it were trying to make out a voice calling to it from a distance.

After a moment the great lizard heaved a long sigh, "I am afraid this chat cannot last strange friends. I must return to the Seat of Seven for I have been summoned."

"The Seat of Seven?" Nix rasped.

Nie snapped his beak closed in thought, and then looked up at the dragon, "We have never heard of such a place."

"And I wouldn't expect you to." The vast dragon dropped lower in the sky abruptly and murmured, "Farwell," Before soaring through the invisible territorial barrier and into the domain of the Lapis Lazuli.

The two had never heard of such a dragon that was _willing_ to invade another territory. And if there ever had been such a dragon it would not have been that of an Emerald.

As they watched a midnight blue dragon that was noticeably smaller than the emerald flew up from the red sand dunes bellow, hurtling towards the green dragon at a speed that easily out did the larger's slower gait.

Nix and Nie imagined that they were about to witness a bloody battle of dragons, but their thoughts stayed simply imaginings.

When the Lapis reached the green dragon it did not breathe blue fire, or attempt to bite at the Emerald's neck. No instead it seemed to begin speaking pleasantly with its enemy as it joined it in flight towards and unknown goal.


	11. Chapter 11

_**SpringRiverImagination here! How are all you guys? I feel terrible about my slow update times, but i'm having some trouble in school so I can't be that fast. Thank you all for sticking with me though! See you guys next time! I look forward to your thoughts this time!**_

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__Chapter Eleven: Departures and Discoveries

Jacob adjusted the dagger on his belt and packed a small shoulder bag with a bit of food and water. The bag and the things it contained had all been purchased from Piura for him by Tyr, who had insisted that the things would be needed if they were going to travel together.

The previous evening Tyr had declared that he would be moving on from Shadowgate because he could wait no longer for fear all trace of the man he was tracking would go cold. Terra had seemed glad to be rid of him, but Jacob had come up with a thought that he could find to cause to keep hidden.

He had explained to the two that he had no desire to stay in Shadowgate after the attack of the two birds; he also told them that he wanted to see if he could find the village that kept coming to his mind. He laid several perfectly good reasons for leaving before asking forthrightly to be allowed to accompany Tyr.

At first Tyr had been reluctant—and Terra downright against it—but after being assured that Jacob would be able to care for himself he relented.

Now with a seething girl burning holes into his back, and the sun rising to cast light through his window, Jacob prepared to leave Shadowgate behind.

"You cannot just go with him!" Terra protested as he turned around to face her, hoisting the bag over his shoulder. Her voice gave away her distain of his decision, but her face still held no emotion, "You have only known him for what? Twenty-four hours?

"It was really more like two days." He smiled at her faintly.

"You do not know a thing about him!" She insisted, "He is a total stranger and you are just going to walk out into the wilderness with him!?"

"You are a total stranger to." Jacob countered.

"But that is different." Terra shook her head, "_I_ am _not_ asking you to follow me anywhere. _I_ just offered you an inn room in exchange for dish washing."

"But he did not ask me." Jacob started out of the inn room and made his way to the staircase, "_I_ asked _him_."

"You are not getting the point here!"

Feeling as if the conversation would never end if he continued to encourage her, Jacob made no response as he thanked Piura and headed for the door of the inn.

"Come back again some time." Piura called after him, "Shadowgate needs a few new youngsters every now and again." He nodded back to her and exited the inn.

Thoughts of possibly finding some of his lost memories by traveling with Tyr both excited and frightened Jacob. He wanted to know about himself but he was afraid of what might be waiting for him in his lost memories. After all there must be a reason he had lost them in the first place.

He stopped beside Tyr at the main gate leading out of the town as it was pulled away be its on duty keeper. Terra paused behind him and when he looked at her he saw that her face—though still as stony as ever—showed a slight bit of concern.

"You will really leave then?" She asked him sternly.

Jacob opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted by Tyr, "Quit worrying about it so much." He said rolling his eyes, "It is not as if I am going to lead him straight off some cliff to his death." Then with a slight change of tone, "If it really matters that much to you I will be sure to drop him off here on my way back to Tora after my journey had reached its end."

Terra turned her back on them abruptly, "It does _not_ matter to me what you do. I just hate to see some poor fool exercise his naïve nature." With a terse wave over her shoulder she was off down the road.

Behind them the gatekeeper called that they were clear to leave.

Tyr patted Jacob on the shoulder and they both faced the outside world of Deltora.

(+)

Oacus has been surprised to hear from Nix and Nie a second time since he has assumed that his servants were no more, yet what surprised him even more was the news that they brought him.

It was not natural for dragons to aid creatures of such noticeably vile presence, but while that could be overlooked as a rare happening, dragons of neighboring territories becoming spontaneously friendly towards one another could not be.

"Seat of Seven?" He whispered to himself after the two voices had subsided and the sphere of fire diminished. His eyes were drawn to the scene of goodbye at the gate of the town. He thought of his purpose—to kill the boy and be done with it—and he realized that now would be his opportune moment to accomplish his goal.

At the same moment he realized that it was a foolish want driven by the maddening dreams he had been having lately, and not the rational thinking he usually conjured to make decisions.

Perhaps burning the locket had sufficed and he was simply overacting at nothing but a _feeling_ that had overtaken him. There could not possibly be a memory he had that was dramatic enough to take him by surprise for even a moment.

So forcing himself to be still, he watched as the boy and his new guard left Shadowgate behind. When the gate has closed behind them the Sorcerer repeated the name the dragon has said in his head. He would not be staying in Shadowgate for much longer himself.

He left the alley he had been standing in and made his way back to his property.

The door opened for him before he even reached the top step and when he closed it upon entering he didn't bother to lock it again.

"That was quick." Resh hissed from the shadows of the staircase as Oacus entered his den and began picking up useful items from the shelves and mantle case.

Resh watched as his Master placed the things he has collected carefully in a rough leather pack that had been taken long ago from a dead adventurer.

"Are you leaving again then Master?" Resh asked, poking his head from the shadows to inspect what Oacus was gathering, "I _had_ hoped that you would cease your restless behavior once the death of this boy granted you some peace."

Oacus paused in his work for, but a moment to mumble, "You speak far too much, Resh."

Resh made a strange clucking sound that served in place of a sigh, and ducked back up the staircase, "You neglected to kill him?" The lack of response from his Master more than served to answer his question so after a moment of building courage he asked, "Then allow me to accompany you on this new journey. It is infuriatingly _boring_ here in your absence."

"You draw far too much attention to yourself." The Sorcerer stated bluntly as he finished his preparations and tied the pack closed.

"You should know far better than that Master!" Resh protested as he stepped from the shadows, "Was this not the reason you permitted me to serve you?" His usual grotesque body had melted away as he moved into the light of the hallway leaving instead a small black lizard.

The lizard was much like a miniature dragon in the sense that it had wings furled tightly on its back, but it's size put the notion of "Dragon" out of one's mind completely. It was only roughly a foot tall and barley six inches from one side of its black scaled chest to the other. It's face was thin and long with deep blue eyes set at its pinnacle. His tail was long and as thin as his face, but it held sharp needle-like points obviously built for the defense of the small creature just as much as its razor edged teeth were.

"You expect this to convince me?"

"I could fit in your pack, Masss—" He coughed, "—Master."

"…Can you fly?" Oacus asked narrowing his eyes at Resh's wings.

"…Uh…In theory…" He stretched the floor with a tiny talon, looking uncomfortable for a moment, then shook his head and said defiantly, "But what do you expect? Pirra isn't all dragons and sea monsters like Deltora. We actually have to work a little to be spectacular."

With an exasperated sigh Oacus untied the pack once again and placed the annoying lizard inside, "Just don't destroy anything in there."

"Yes, Master!"

"And no snide comments."

"I'll…try Master."


	12. Chapter 12

**_Hey guys! This by far has to have been my favorite chapter to write! I hope you guys love reading as much as I loved writing it for you! Oh by the way guys if your reading this then you should take the time to read Crystal Silvera's The Other World Trilogy. It's an excellent story! Anyways guys as always thanks for reading and have a great week!_**

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Chapter Twelve: The Gale Mercenaries

She knelt before the hulking form of her employer as he sat upon his bone carved throne. His eyes stared down at her in a harsh scowl and his mouth was set in a firm line. He was not happy—as usual.

Ta'ahine had just finished recounting her tale of the two phoenixes and the emerald dragon. She expected Gael to explode with his typical burst of rage and start raving on and on about how much he hated the Sorcerer. She had been in his service for over a year now and she would never grow accustomed to his excessive _rants_.

There was silence from the throne for a long while until it had been some odd five minutes without so much as a grunt from Gael. Curious, Ta'ahine glanced up at him to see what was taking him so long. Perhaps he had fallen asleep? It would be unusual, but not impossible.

When her eyes fell on the strange sight in front of her she had to keep herself from uttering a small gasp of surprise.

Genma had seated herself on the right armrest of Gael's throne and was also gazing down at the composed face of her partner. His eyes were closed and his arms were folded across the battered steel breastplate he wore. His face was hard, weathered, and tired not even a tremble of anger showed there.

Ta'ahine glanced at Genma, who looked back a bewildered look on her face. Neither of the two had ever seen Gael in such a state, the Jalis man was normally seething with anger and hate for their long hunted prey. It did not seem like his nature to be calm.

Slowly he opened his blue eyes revealing a strange glassy look there. His gaze fell on Ta'ahine and he allowed his arms to drop down to rest on his knees.

"Is it possible that _he_ has managed to obtain a way to control dragons?" Gael asked quietly.

"That is not possible!" Genma cried in protest, "There has never been anyone in all the history of Deltora who has _ever_—"

"Silence!" Gael told her harshly, "I was not addressing you!"

The room fell into stillness again, but this time for only a moment. Gael looked directly at Ta'ahine yet again and repeated his question.

"Is it possible that the Sorcerer has found a way to control dragons?"

Ta'ahine cleared her throat and stood up not totally sure what the best response to his question was, "I am no magical expert." She murmured before quickly rushing on, "But I would think it safer for us to assume so."

Gael nodded and leaned back into the furs lining the back of his throne with a weary sigh, "You must find him and kill him soon." He said his eyes closing once again, "Things are getting progressively more complicated by the moment."

Ta'ahine could not stop her eyes from widening at his words. Gael has always insisted that he would be the one to end Oacus; he had at times even threatened to break every bone in her body if she were to so much as scratch his prey. Now he was telling _her_ to kill him?

Could it have been a slip of the tongue?

No, this was a subject to deeply embedded in his pride to be a slip, he had meant it.

"Umm…" Genma looked at Gael than Ta'ahine as if searching for permission to say something.

"Speak." Gael murmured.

"Why have you been speaking so quietly?"

He did not respond and after a moment Genma began to look nervous as if fearing that her question had upset him and that she would have to now face his ruthless impatience.

"What she meant to ask was, 'are you feeling well Milord?'" Ta'ahine offered, patching Genma's thoughtless question.

"Well enough." Gael said, then after another pause, sighed, "But I suppose your questions are justified."

"It is true; it is not a custom in Jaliad for warriors to become tired of a good fight. But I have no doubt that if they had been partaking in such an endless, draining chase as I have for almost the last decade and a half then they would feel the same." He reached over the left armrest of his throne to touch the golden hilt of the great sword resting there as if finding some sort of strange comfort in its coolness.

"You cannot mean to say that you do not want to kill him anymore?" Genma gasped, shocked, "What about the family you said he killed? What about your wife?" At the last part she clasped a hand over her mouth and Ta'ahine slapped a hand to her forehead. Genma knew well that speaking of Gael's wife was forbidden, yet the idiotic bird brain had said it anyway.

Gael's eyes opened and anger flashed there. When he spoke though there was no hint of it, "His death will give me great satisfaction in my vengeance for the deaths he has brought about." His fist clenched on the hilt of his sword as if he intended to use it.

Genma stumbled off the armrest of his throne and kneeled, "Forgive me I did not intend to offend you Mil—"

"But I can no longer kill him myself." His hand loosened and he drew it back to touch the burn on his neck that did not appear to be healing well, "I will leave this task to you Ta'ahine." He turned his head to look at her, "and I will trust that you will not let me down."

Ta'ahine nodded.

"What about me?" Genma asked softly.

"You will find this dragon and find out if it is truly his puppet." He did not bother to look at her.

The two of them left his presence and soon he once again found himself alone in the darkness of his throne room with only the light of a single flickering torch to pierce it. He could hear the quiet flames whip this way and that as they fought to keep burning on the dying stick of wood.

"Do you wish to be served your meal now Milord?"

He looked at the woman who had just entered the throne room. Her long black hair hung at her back in a thick dirty braid, and her soft face was smudged with dirt and grime. Her sapphire eyes gleamed out of the filth and stared at him almost defiantly.

He sighed, in no mood to scold the girl's insolence, "No, Arrian, forget the meal. Bring the blue liniment from the storeroom instead."

"You could just say bring the burn cream." She rolled her eyes, "It means the same thing."

"Get it!" He growled.

"Yes, Milord" She curtsied sarcastically, spun around on her heel and marched to do her duty leaving him in the silence and dying light of his throne room. He allowed his eyes to drift closed.

As he sat there he heard the laughter of a woman echo in the empty halls of his fortress. It was for the millionth time he was hearing this, yet each time he couldn't help but smile while a chill ran up his spine.

This laugh was not real, it was simply the ghost of his imagination come to haunt him as it always did—and as it always would until he took vengeance on the murderer of its source.

"You will pay for what you have done Sorcerer."

(+)

Resh crawled out of the pack he had taken the liberty of untying, and pulled himself onto his Master's shoulder.

"Where are we?"

"Who said you could come out of there?" Oacus glanced at the miniature form of his servant.

Resh settled in on Oacus's shoulder, wrapping his thin tail around his Master's neck so that he could balance, careful not to let any of the spikes on it touch skin.

"It was getting stuffy in there. You try sticking your head in a knapsack for a few hours and see how you feel." He yawned and small ember puffed out of his mouth.

After giving Resh a sideways glance Oacus focused on the road again and said, "If this is how the rest of the trip is going to be then you had better learn to fly."

"What?!" Resh looked at the Sorcerer's face incredulously, "Why?"

"You have to make yourself somewhat useful."

"Hey! I _am_ useful!" Resh protested, "No manner of man or beast in all of Deltora could possibly stand up to my witty comments and flavorful insight."

"Hiring you was not one of my brighter moments."

"Oh come on now!" Resh lifted his head, "You do not pay me. Therefore you never hired me…therefore it was not a moment and therefore _**I**_ am a slave. So I should be the one complaining here."

The two of them subsided into silence and Oacus focused on taking the correct turns in the road, occasionally even stepping off it and trekking through the tall grass.

"Master." Resh twisted his neck and leaned forward, "Why are we searching for these dragons? What has this got to do with us? And even if you feel you must, why not just kill the boy first and get it over with?" His blue eyes searched the face of their Master, "Why are you stalling this?"

Though he expected his master to retaliate for him speaking out of turn nothing came of his questions. He received no reaction from his Master and they continued on their way through the wilderness heading towards an unknown goal.

Feeling something watching him, Resh twisted his head once again to look behind him. His tongue—which was not forked—flicked out of his mouth as if it wished it could taste the air before he turned his head forwards again disregarding the feeling as being paranoid.


	13. Chapter 13

_**Hey guys ! Here's a little treat for you! Two chapters in one week! I had a little extra time so a wrote it early. I hope you enjoy! Can't wait to hear from all of you!**_

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Chapter Thirteen : New Faces

Jacob looked up at the looming mountain range that their trail seemed to run beside. Dark clouds hovered at the peaks of the Barrier Mountains giving the place an ominous air that made him shutter. He wasn't sure what lay beyond the mountains but he understood perfectly well that it was nothing good.

It had been a solid forty-eight hours since the two of them had set out from Shadowgate the journey so far had been quiet and swift; they had covered much ground in such a short time. Traveling was as enjoyable as it could be in the rough terrain that lay in the shadow of the Barrier Mountain.

The only problem?

The quiet.

Tyr had not said more than a few words since they had left Shadowgate behind, Jacob would never have guessed before that Tyr could be so serious. He supposed that the reason behind his companion's silence was the fact that they seemed so far from discovering the location of the "girl" he had been searching for.

The more Jacob thought of the girl Tyr had mentioned the more curious he got about the subject. What was she to Tyr? A sister? A friend? Something more? What was her name? Was she nice? What did she look like? He couldn't explain his curiosity after all it was none of his business; then again most people would be curious of the unknown.

Soon Jacob had worked up enough confidence to decide that he would ask Tyr about her.

So he waited until night when Tyr had set up camp and was busy cooking a simple meal of meat, water, and salt boiled together.

"Tyr?" Jacob looked carefully across the fire at his travel companion.

"Mm?"

"About this girl you have been looking for…"

Tyr's hand paused mid-stir and he removed the spoon from the small pot of stew he had been mixing, "What about her?"

"Umm…" Jacob cleared his throat and tried to keep his confidence, "Well if I am going to be accompanying you from now on would it be so terrible for me to know a bit about her?"  
Tyr stared at him for a few moments as if contemplating whether or not this was some sort of trick question. After a few moment of awkward silence he sighed and put the spoon down.

"Her name is Arrian. And she is the kindest woman you could ever meet."

(+)

"Master." Resh coughed, "Master."

"You have been wailing that for over an hour." Oacus stated calmly, "Either say what it is you want or remain silent."

"Master I advise against following this path any longer."

"And why is that?""

"I smell humans ahead," Resh growled, "A lot of them."

"I am aware of them."

Resh jerked his head around until one of his tiny blue eyes could look directly into those of his Master, "You need to give me warnings when you decide to go on mass carnage runs. Afternoon butchery gives me stomachaches."

"We are not going to kill these people." Oacus assured Resh, flicking his small face out of his line of vision, "We are going to gain an audience with their initiator."

"So..Let me get this straight." Resh cocked his head, "_You_, a fire Sorcerer working for the Shadow Lord, and a mass murderer are going to waltz into a horde of innocent humans and ask them politely to 'take you to their leader'?" He chuckled, "I just _cannot_ wait to see you get run off by pitch forks and torches."

Oacus ignored the irritating laughter at his ear and continued on around the bend in the trail.

The trail ahead was shaded with trees and so overgrown that it was almost unrecognizable as a path of any sort. If he hadn't been traveling this path for many years he would have been confused—but the fact was that he had seen the dirt there so many times the sight of it had imprinted itself in his mind and he no longer had to see it to know it was there. It was not long before he felt the presence of another just up ahead.

Resh's laugher died suddenly and his head turned pointedly to look at the large tree beside the path. He steadily began to look up until his blue gaze locked onto the thick tree branches overhead, "Now I understand…" He hissed and bore his diminutive teeth soundlessly—as if he were incapable of snarling.

"Come down out of there Zwei." Oacus said, stopping, "You were incapable of concealing yourself from even Resh, staying up their only serves to embarrass your lack of skills further."

"Oh no! You caught me!" A sarcastic voice erupted from amid the dark green leaves.

A woman leapt from the branches of the tree, landing lightly on her feet. Her face was hidden behind a brilliantly realistic mask hewn with real bird's feathers and a sharp carved beak. There were delicate holes in the mask for the woman's golden eyes and lightly smiling mouth.

Resh spat on ground in front of her feet. His spit sizzled and eroded the dirt it landed on.

"How rude of you." She smiled slyly, "You act as if I am some stranger, spying on you! When in truth I am your very best friend, who at every turn searches for an opening to slit your scrawny throat."

Her voice was dry, resentful—and it was directed only towards Resh.

"I would say the same to you _woman_." He spat a second time, "Except that I would never bring myself to say the word _friend_ and your name in the same sentence without regurgitating my lunch."

"Zwei." Oacus cut in sick of their squabbling, "Where is he?"

The woman shifted her gaze and began to look uncomfortable, "He does not wish to see you anymore. He says your reputation has been receiving far too much attention of late for you two to speak again. You understand he is just trying to keep out of the King's sight?"

"King or no I must speak with him. I require his cooperation."

"You do not understand." She shook her head, "Agra has begun searching like a mad woman for him again. We believe she is under the impression that _he_ is behind _your_ crimes. She is looking for anything to assure his fool of a brother this."

"If King Elstred believes that witch than he is even more of nut than I had him figured for." Resh hissed with less humor than usual.

"Enough of this." Oacus held up a hand, "I do not care what sort of self-preservation plan he has in place, Zwei." He pointed a finger at her, "If you intend to stop me I will kill you."

"Now. Take me to Ballum."

(+)

Gael watched as Arrian swept small flakes of ash out from underneath the torch in the throne room. She hummed busily to herself as she worked seeming to forget he even existed. As he watched her, he wondered how many times it made now that he mistook the young woman for another.

"Do you need anything else Milord?" She when she had finished.

"Well I could go for a drink of wine." Someone chuckled.

Arrian looked around wildly for the source of the voice that had erupted from the many shadows of the room. She held her broom tightly and almost looked fearful.

"Whose there!?" She asked, shouting, "You do not belong here! Leave at once!"

"Tsk, Tsk, my fair maiden." It echoed, "Sure I don't live here, but that's no reason to be a hypocrite. I ain't the only one in this room who doesn't belong here."

"Who are you?" She demanded. Gael shook his head already knowing the answer to her question.

"Why, fair maiden, I am the man of your dreams come to rescue you from this terrible dungeon." A man stepped into the light of the torch with yet another chuckle.

He wore a thick weather-worn brown cloak with a heavy hood that darkened his face. No true distinct features could be made out on him aside from the cloak, but Gael was still aware of who he was.

"Amos." Gael sighed, "It has been some time since I last saw you."

His cloaked shoulders shrugged, "Been busy. The Silver Sea near Bone Point is best this time of year. You know that."

"Pirating then?"

"A bit… " Then as if recalling what he came for, "What've you been up to in this crapy fortress of yours Gael?" He asked sharply, "You wouldn't believe the stories the others told me. That you were attacking the _Shadow Lord_? Now tell me that isn't true."

"Only in a sense."

"Oh com'on! You _can't_ be serious!" He groaned.

Gael remained silent.

After a slight pause Amos sighed, "Well…can I be of any help?" Then as an afterthought, "If not I could always stick around to keep a friendly eye on you—you know make sure you don't get yourself killed—and while I'm at that I could find myself a little privet time and flirt with your new servant girl."

"Keep your filthy hands away from me." She growled.

"Playing hard to get huh? That's ok I'm patient."

"Never mind that." Gael murmured, "I may just have something you can do."

"I'm almost disappointed."


	14. Chapter 14

_**So sorry i'm late guys! And that it's so short! But I think i'll lable this short and sweet becuase i really liked writing this chapter! Fingers crossed that I get another done real soon! Looking forward to hearing from you all! Enjoy the Chapter!**_

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Chapter Fourteen: Ballum of the Masked Ones

Ballum of Del

The camp of the Masked Ones was lively to say the least. With scores of acrobats standing on their hands and dozens of jugglers handling torches for their acts it would be easy for a stranger to lose their way in the commotion. The disturbingly realistic animal masks on the performers did not take away from the confusion one might face.

But Oacus was neither a stranger, nor found himself in anyway confused. This was not his first visit to the camp of the Masked Ones, he and the man they followed were what could be referred to as associates…or acquaintances. As such the group tolerated his presence among them. What they did not tolerate was the company he had a tenancy of keeping.

Walking through the camp it did not take long for one of the practicing entertainers to "stumble" while handling the knives required for his performance. The curved knife he dropped was coincidentally aimed directly for Resh's place on his Master's shoulder.

Oacus pulled back swiftly, allowing the knife to fall to the ground at his feet.

"Forgive my clumsiness!" The man exclaimed as he kneeled to pick up his knife, "I suppose I need more practice."

Oacus continued on after Zwei not bothering to respond to the man. Resh clicked his tongue in annoyance and his tail coiled tighter around his Master's neck.

"He could at least put a little effort into his false apology. I mean a child could tell he tried to kill me." He finished his statement with a displeased hiss.

"Get back inside the pack." Oacus ordered flatly.

"While your concern is exponentially appreciated—and vomit inducing—I think you are going to need me when you face Mister 'Cheery'."

As if on cue Zwei stepped aside to reveal the entrance to the large tent that seemed to be centered where the chaos was most intense, "This is Master Ballum's tent. He will be waiting within." She gestured for them to go inside.

"What about you?" Resh asked narrowing his already small eyes, "Aren't you going in with us?"

"Master Ballum has been acting…strangely of late." She looked away, "It is not a good idea for anyone of us to disturb him."

"Oh sure and I am supposed to believe this is not some sort of trap?" Resh protested as Oacus pushed aside the animal skin door and entered the dark tent.

As soon as the skin fall back into its place behind them the ray of light that had moderately illuminated the space before them was cut off and the tent was plunged back into the darkness one sees when they close their eyes. Resh jerked his head back so that it hovered close to his Master's neck—he had never been comfortable around Masked Ones' leader. The man was far too optimistic about life.

"Ballum." The Sorcerer's voice seemed to echo in the mostly empty tent, "You know what I have come for."

For the longest time there was no response and Oacus just stood in silence. He did not seemed bother by that however and continued to wait patiently until something in the shadows shifted.

"Did Zwei not tell you?" A voice rasped from the other end of the tent, "I can no longer do business with you….Now leave me be."

Oacus lifted a hand and a flame appeared above it causing an explosion of light to be cast on inhabitant of the tent, "I care nothing for your petty squabble with Elstred, nor do I care that Agra chases you once again. I require your service and this time I do not come before you as a friend." His voice darkened, "Know that I will end your life and all those within this camp if you refuse."

The man sitting several feet away wore thick red robes and had his hands folded before his face. Unlike the men and women outside he did not wear a mask—not in privet at least—so his burn scared face was clearly visible. On his lap lay an owl mask more detailed than any of the colorful masks the people outside wore.

He did not seem intimidated by the threats dealt him, in fact a mirthless smirk touched his lips when he spoke, "There was a time when I would have believed that threat Oacus, but I am no longer the naïve man I was when we first met." He took hold of the owl mask in his lap and stood up, "These days when you have visited my camp I find your threats hollower than you heart."

"And I find you grow ever more disrespectful Ballum of Del." Oacus sighed.

Ballum picked up an apple from a waiting tray on the table beside his chair, "Ah, Del!" He said taking a bite of the fruit, "Speaking of it have you been there recently? I would welcome any news on how my niece fares."

"I have not come to speak of trivialities Ballum." Oacus said exasperated, "I require you and your...collection of talents to track a dragon."

Ballum froze mid-bite and looked at Oacus.

"I know you have done it before and now I require that you do it once again."

The leader of the Masked Ones placed his half eaten apple back on the tray and cleared his throat, "This….sounds like an intriguing quest….and an extremely difficult one."

Oacus remained firm, "Be that as it may you must accomplish it."

Ballum stared down at the mask in his hand, "One difficult task deserves another my friend, does it not?"

Resh spat his acidic saliva on the tent floor, "It does not!" He snapped, "Quit being so bold! Your brazen attitude irks me."

"Reshian, I hadn't recognized you." Ballum looked at the miniature dragon with a good natured smile, "For a moment I thought Oacus was in the company of a new servant. It is a pleasure to see you once again."

"S-Stop buttering me up!" Resh stammered taken off guard by the nickname he hadn't heard in ages.

"Is it working then?"

"What? No!"

"Ballum." Oacus murmured, "What is it that you would ask of me in return?"

"Master!" Resh cried in shock.

Ballum ran a hand through his black hair and sat down once again with a light groan, "Promise me that if I do this…you will find someone to take my place as leader of the Masked Ones."


	15. Chapter 15

_**Hey guys! SO sorry it has taken me this long to update. I got sick then I lost my USB port and school...(insert various life events here). But anyway i'm back now! I'm going to give you a little official Sorcerer Oacus facts. **_

_**1.) I think in an early update I said that Jacob was 13. Sorry about that I meant 16 (like Lief).**_

_**2.) The second one if more a fore warning: This story follows four main plot lines; the Gael Mercenaries, Tyr & Jacob, Oacus's story (the most important of course), and the newest one that will be intorduced in this chapter (i'll give the name of it at the bottom of the page so I won't give out any spoilers)**_

_**Anyway enjoy the chapter! Hopefully I'll get another chapter out this week, keep your fingers crossed! As always guys I love to hear from you and can't wait! See you all later!**_

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Chapter Fifteen: The Beginning of a Tale; Company?

Del's Market Street was crowded with people as it was every morning. Men and women moved about searching for the smaller ingredients missing from their breakfast and the few children that were awake this early huddled together in groups giggling and whispering. In the early morning bustle no one noticed the filthy boy hastily dodging through the street towards the blacksmith's forge. Or as it had come to be called, Adin's Forge.

The boy stumbled to a dead stop before reaching the forge guarded by a handful of men. He quickly checked his pockets to make sure he still had the treasure that would please her then he poured some water from a nearby well over his head to clean off some of the dirt. He shook off the excess water and looked down at his grimy cloths. There was nothing he could do about those at the last second…

Taking a deep breath he walked boldly up to the guard at the gate to the forge.

"Here early today are you Brandon?" The guard asked glancing down at the boy with a grin splitting his scared face and a knowing glint in his single blue eye.

"I suppose so, Orin—I mean, Sir." He responded, politely ignoring the large red scar that cut across Orin's left eye. The somewhat fresh scar was testament to the man's undying loyalty to the family he guarded.

Orin leaned forward on the spear he had propped up beside him and continued to smile down at the dirty boy, "Are you sure she is even awake yet boy?"

"Of course I am!"

Orin straightened up instantly at the sound of her voice and the guards on duty around him all snapped to attention. They stepped aside for the girl who had spoken and she stepped out of the gate passed them.

She looked at Brandon with a bright smile, her bouncing black curls and dark brown eyes both serving to complete the framing of her beautiful face. Her dress was a plain light blue and was probably the simplest piece of clothing she owned. Around her wrists she had slipped on two undoubtedly expensive purple bracelets. She had also wrapped about her waist a belt with a small pouch attached to it. He knew that inside the pouch would be their food for the rest of the day—_if_ all went as planned.

Orin bowed shortly to the girl, "My apologies Princess. I was simply teasing the boy."

Her brown eyes shifted to a different target and her smile disappeared, "Well try and tease _him_ not me next time Orin."

"Certainly Princess."

The girl turned her attention back to Brandon and hopped over to him. Her voice was high and excited when she asked, "Are you ready to go?"

He nodded and tried to match her gleeful attitude, "You bet!"

She glanced over her shoulder at Orin, whose eyes were locked on the street beyond them, and leaned forward to whisper in his ear, "Did you bring it?"

Brandon patted his tattered jacket pocket and nodded.

"Well come on then!" She grabbed his arm and started to run off down the street.

A firm, rough hand took hold of Brandon's shoulder stopping the two short, "Princess, wait a moment!" They both turned about at the same time to face Del's stern Captain of the Guard, "I must know where you two intend to go."

"We aren't going far Orin!" She assured him with an innocent smile, "Right Brandon?"

Brandon eyed his partner in crime and stammered pathetically, "Uh….right!"

"Princess Adina." Orin frowned down at her, his tone disapproving, "You are only fifteen; it is unwise to make a habit of lies at such a young age. Deltora's future queen should aim to act better than that."

"But Orin I—"

"I will not have any excuses. Do not lie again."

"I understand."Adina nodded with a small sigh, "sorry Orin."

"I accept your apology. Now tell me where you two are headed."

She bit her lip and looked at Brandon who gazed back at her his eyes almost guilty. She looked at the ground and murmured, "Outside the gates…"

The two of them cringed, waiting for the scolding that was inevitably on its way. Orin's had a history of being loyal, and respectful to the royal family. He was also known to yell at the more foolish of children, the Princess of Deltora was no exception. Neither would have guessed in their wildest dreams the words he spoke next.

"Then I had better come with you."

"Really!?" Adina cried looking up at the tall man, her eyes wide and unbelieving.

"Why not? I needed a break from this stuffy spot—been out her all night you know." Orin looked over his shoulder and called to one of the other guards, "Grim take my place."

"But Captain…." Grim responded shifting uncomfortable and glancing at the forge behind him, "What about Agra? She…will not be happy about you taking the Princess outside of Del."

Orin shrugged off Grim's warning, "The old coot needs to lighten up. What child should be locked up in a walled city their whole life? Especially on a day as beautiful as this one is shaping up to be! Just cover for me."

"I do not think….this is such a good idea Captain." Grim murmured.

"You should not worry yourself so much." Orin clapped his friend on the shoulder, pulled his spear out of the ground and turned to leave, "Besides how often is it that I leave you in charge of the men Grim?"

Adina squealed with happiness and threw her arms around Orin, "Thank you!"

"I thank you as well Sir." Brandon said quietly.

Orin laughed, peeled her off, and nodded to Brandon, "Yes, yes, now come on before the sun gets to high in the sky."

The trio moved away from the forge, leaving Grim to gaze uneasily after them. They were all unaware of the cunning pair of eyes that watched them from within.

(+)

"Aw….You should have refused him Master. " Resh growled down at Oacus from his small bed of leaves high in the branches of the trees surrounding the Masked Ones camp, "Now he thinks he will be rewarded for speaking to you that way."

The two of them had moved out of the camp for the night per the masked leader's request. Apparently Ballum was under the impression that the camp was far too dangerous for Resh in his small form—or at least that was what he had said, but they both knew he had just taken the opportunity to tease the creature. Ballum had assured them that he would begin the hunt for the dragon they sought at the break of dawn.

The Sorcerer did not answer Resh; he remained silently gazing into the fire that burned in the palm of his hand. The flame lit only a portion of the small clearing he stood in, but the heat it omitted was strong. His eyes followed every movement the fire made, every sporadic flicker and every surge. There was no pattern to it, no rhythm, but he enjoyed following it. While it was not exactly entertaining it kept his far away from the sleep he did not wish to come.

The foliage surrounding the clearing began to rustle in the frigid nighttime breeze. It brought with it a scent that was both familiar and…new.

"Master…."

"Silence."

Oacus held the out his hand and the flame there began to flare up dangerously until its light reached the bushes where the scent lay concealed. When his eyes fell on soft lines of realistic fur he dropped his hand, allowing the fire to die.

"What do you want?" Oacus asked leaning back against the tree behind him.

A child—who could not have been older than eight—jumped up out of the bushes, both startled and determined. She wore a black silk cloak and had on the mask of wild cat detailed so that it looked as if she were smiling. The mask was not as eloquent as those worn by the older generation of Masked One and it allowed her long black hair to be shown, but it was still real enough to be breathtaking—to humans.

"I…I um…." Her voice started out weak and hesitant, but she cleared her throat and began again, "Do you intend to leave our camp soon?"

"You got it kid." Resh retorted irritably, "First thing tomorrow we are going to leave this dump behind us. After we make sure your leader keeps his word of course."

She coughed and cleared her throat again, "I…..I want to…..I mean I am going to…"

"Finish your sentence kid; I have to actually close my eyes before morn—"

"Resh." Oacus cut off his sarcastic servant and ignored the grumblings that followed it.

In a sudden bout of confidence she screwed her eyes shut and yelled out what she had come to say,

"I want to come with you!"

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_**I think we'll call the fourth plot line the "Deltoran Princess". I assure you (for all those who are wondering) each plot line plays a pivotal role in the story. How? I guess you'll just have to wait and see!**_


	16. Chapter 16

_**Hey guys! Only one day and I already have another chapter for you! I can hear your virtual cheers! Can you hear mine? Anyway I hope you enjoy this chapter. Hope I can keep this up! I'm trying to make up for how long it's been! **_

_**Can't wait to hear from you guys as always! I'll see you all next chapter, have a fantastic day!**_

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Chapter Sixteen: Sighting

Under the orders from their Captain, the on duty guards at the gate opened the doors to let out the two horses and their riders. Brandon was sure that if the two of them had come alone they would never have made it out. They would have looked like two mischievous kids looking to get in trouble on their own. With Orin they looked official…important especially while riding the two horses Orin owned. The only thing that was strange about the procession now was the fact that the Captain of the Guard was riding one of the horses with Princess Adina seated on the saddle in front of him.

Her presence had warranted the guards to look twice at them, but one glance from their Captain had made them keep quiet. Brandon, however, was sure their mouths would not stay shut for long; they would no doubt be sharing the story with their fellow guards.

The boy urged Knight, the black horse he rode, forward after Orin's white horse when the gates were open. Their pace was steady and sure though Adina and Brandon had not yet told Orin the place they planned to go. They continued this way until the road wound out of the eye sight of the guards.

Orin pulled Grace into a gentle walk and aligned her with Knight, "So where is this party heading then?"

"We were hoping we could go to the River Del." Adina told him almost in a whisper, as if she were afraid her statement was to bold, "Right Brandon?"

"We were." Brandon agreed in his quiet way.

"Perfect." Orin exclaimed, "I have not been down to see it in some time, but it is certainly the best destination for first time travelers like yourselves."

Adina gasped, "Oh Orin! Do you mean it!?"

"Come now Princess." Orin rolled his one good eye skyward, "Do you think I would go through the trouble of getting you and Brandon free of the gate and _not_ take you to see the sights?"

"I cannot even begin to thank you for this Orin!" She cried joyfully.

Brandon followed her lead, "I feel the same."

Orin had to turn his head in order to look at Brandon since the boy was riding in his blind spot, "I should really teach you to be more outgoing kid." He said examining the boy's almost expressionless face, "I haven't see you give so much as a hint of feeling since you smiled at the Princess earlier, and that is once heck of a long time to go without a facial expression." He turned to look forward, "then again you were sitting in my blind spot the whole ride from the stables so I cannot say that with the utmost confidence."

"Brandon has plenty of emotion Orin." Adina protested, "I see it all the time when we play."

Orin snorted at her words and lightly kicked Grace into a canter, "Anyhow, we had better hurry if we want to make it to the River Del by midday."

The road was rutted deeply by wagon wheels and horseshoes making travel a bit slower. The scenery that drifted by them was mostly nothing but simple grassland with the occasional tree. To the north slight rises in the land could be seen poking their heads out of the flat landscape. Howls seemed to drift from that direction, but they were so faint it could be mistaken for the wind.

They were heading west along the road so looking left would have resulted in the walled city of Del meeting their eyes. The city had been built around a hill that currently stood empty. From here the roves of houses could be seen peeking over the whitewashed walls.

For the longest time the scenery never change. Del remained to their left, and the distant Os-Mine Hills remained to their right. Then finally the trees began to pass them in groups instead of by themselves until it seemed that either side of the road was lines with trees guiding them to their destination.

The roar of water just past the rise in the road ahead of them made Orin pull Grace back into a trot, "Eyes forward now you two. I would hate for you to miss this sight." At the top of the hill they both halted their horses and Orin smiled as Brandon and Adina gawked down at the River Del.

Clear water rushed by at a steady pace, flowing towards the Ocean of the South past Del. Healthy, dark green trees thrived in thick clusters near the river on both sides and blossoming violets lined the banks beside them giving off a sweet scent into the air. The occasional blue scaled fish leapt from the river before disappearing into the hastening water once again.

Adina inhaled noisily as she tried to take in the entire scene at once. Brandon looked on patiently wishing he could paint the moment rather than try and remember it.

After a few silent moments Orin urged Grace into a careful walk down the hill heading for the river bank just off the road, "I cannot say I know what you two want to do now that you made it here." He stopped his horse beside a low handing tree branch, slid off, and tied her to it, "However, I know that I intend to have a pleasant lunch under this tree here." He turned and lifted the teenaged Princess out of the saddle, placing her gently in the tall grass, "So you two be sure and have as much fun as our short time here allows."

Brandon tied Knight to the branch beside Grace and moved to Adina's side. They both watched as Orin sat under a tree nearby and pulled several articles of food out of the small pack he had brought with him. When he glanced up and saw them watching him he waved them away,

"There will be plenty left for you later. I brought enough for the three of us."

They both turned away and walked towards the bank where the sweet scent of the violets was strongest and the roar of the river was loudest. This way their conversation would not be overheard by Orin and the surprise ruined.

"Do you think he knows what we came for?" Adina yelled just loudly enough for Brandon to hear her over the crashing water.

"No I do not." Brandon shook his head, "He just knows we would not have come simply to look at the river."

Adina pulled the ends of her dress a bit higher so it would not get stained by the muddy ground she trod on. Brandon kneeled bravely down in the muck and reached for the roots of the purple flowers. He pulled them up carefully so that he would not damage them then he handed them to Adina who laid them on the less muddy ground behind them. They repeated this task three more times until four violet plants—roots and all—lay out before them.

He then cupped his hand in the river and caught some of the cold water using that to clean off some of the dirt on the roots so it would be less messy to relocate. Then in the last step Adina handed Brandon the bit of food that was in the pouch at her waste and replaced them with the flowers. They would be somewhat flat by the time they got to Del, but the damage should not be permanent as long as Adina was careful.

When they were done they started back to Orin, smiles on their faces.

A sudden powerful gust of wind knocked Adina off her feet and made Brandon stumble. They both gasped, the air snatched right from their lungs. Adina started to get to her feet, but the first blast with quickly followed by a second, then a third making standing up impossible. Soon Brandon was knocked down beside her.

They heard the frantic snorts and high pitched cries of Knight and Grace as the horses panicked and felt the cold touch of the water as the wind sprayed it on them. As he struggled to catch his breath Brandon turned his head to see what was causing the sudden flurry of wind.

What he saw was something he had hoped to never lay eyes on.

Its scales glistened like the sun and its enormous wings beat at the air slowly dropping the large body it spread from on the opposite bank of the River Del. It moved its head around until it and the boy on the group were mere feet apart, deep, golden eyes bore into Brandon.

"Princess! Brandon!" Orin called, alarm showing clearly in his voice, but nothing more.

"This is a rare sight indeed!" The topaz dragon mused as it gazed upon the children before it, "To find the heir of Adin and her young friend so far from the stench of Del."

Orin was at their side in only a moment, his sword was not drawn but he looked as If he were prepared for the second it would be necessary, "Princess, are you hurt?"

Adina shook her head and got to her feet. Brandon, however, took his time stumbling up. His eyes were locked on those of the dragon.

"Pardon my rather rough landing." The dragon rumbled almost as an afterthought, "I have not stretched my wings in ages." It extended one wings slowly as if to test it.

"I had not seen one of your kind in quite some time." Orin told it calmly, "I had begun to think you all gone."

"Is that so man of Del?" The dragon eyed Orin carefully, "Had you not taken into consideration that we simply cannot stand the odor your city gives off? And moved further away to ease the pain of being so close to it."

"I had not considered." Orin said, his voice still even, "My apologies."

Adina cleared her throat to break the tension and said shyly, "The color of your scales is magnificent."

Orin placed a hand on her shoulder as a warning and Brandon watched the dragon's face for a reaction to her words.

The topaz made a strange noise that Brandon thought might be laughter, "To think I would be complimented by the young Princess of Deltora. Many thanks little one."

The golden eyes suddenly moved to Brandon's face, "You look much like a king's heir also, but I do not sense it in you. How odd."

The dragon subsided into a thoughtful silence and Orin began to guide Adina back towards to horses. He gestured for Brandon to follow.

"We beg your pardon dragon of the topaz." Orin said, bowing politely, "But it is important that I get the Princess back to Del before It becomes too late to make the trip before nightfall."

The dragon nodded, "Certainly, I would not want to interrupt—" Its head jerked suddenly to look north and its eyes glazed over as if its mind were elsewhere. Orin froze a moment, unsure of what such behavior meant.

"Mm….I am sorry…I must be going now." The topaz murmured looking back at them, "It was pleasant to meet you, but I to must not be late." It spread its wings wide and with a simple, "Farewell." It launched itself into the air with more buffeting winds and soared north towards an unknown destination.

(+)

The following afternoon Brandon hurried through the market of Del once again heading for the forge. He had spent the rest of the day after their return and most of the night preparing quality pots from the pottery shop and good dirt for the plants they had collected. Then he had spent his entire morning planting them in the pots and watering them. He was now heading to fetch Adina so that she could see the product of his hard work.

Upon reaching the well around the corner from the forge he poured water on his head as he always did and mulled over ways to get new cloths before heading over. Once again there was a handful of guards watching over the forge, but today Grim stood before the gate instead of Orin. When Grim caught sight of Brandon heading his way he frowned.

"What is it today?" He asked his voice quiet.

"I wish to show Adina something I…made last night." Brandon responded wondering absently why Orin was not here.

Grim sighed, "After yesterday's adventure I would be shocked if His Majesty ever let the Princess out of his sight again."

Brandon nodded. They had both figured she would get in trouble for sneaking out, of course both had thought that having Orin along would lighten the blow. Apparently not.

"Where is Orin?" Brandon asked before turning around to leave.

Grim was silent for a long while. His fists were clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white and his face had darkened. The other guards around the forge all looked at Grim expectantly, as if they two had asked the question but had never received an answer.

After some time Grim finally met Brandon's gaze, "The Captain….fell terribly ill not long after your return." His voice showed a hint of fear that Brandon did not quite understand, "He could not make it to his post this morning so I took over in his absence."

The guard whipped sweat off his face and looked down at Brandon his eyes wide, "The woman who looked at him thought that he may have caught something on the trip you took. Something that you—and the Princess may have caught as well." He sighed, "Any guard should know better."

Brandon knew what Grim was trying to say. That if Orin had not agreed to take them out of Del the Adina would not be in any danger. He was saying that Orin had no one but himself to blame for his fever. But Brandon knew—he was absolutely positive—that they had come across nothing that could make a person ill. Especially not someone as strong as Orin.

Anyhow, Adina could not be in any danger. If she were infected she would have fallen ill last night as Orin had. No, Orin must be sick over something else.

"How is he then?" Brandon asked, running down a list of possible explanations in his head. There had to be a simple, easy reason for this. Orin knew the dangers outside Del, he would never take them if there was a chance they would get sick.

Grim did not respond this time. When Brandon looked into his eyes he realized with a pang just how much he had taken for granted the presence of the loyal, teasing Captain of the Guard.


	17. Chapter 17

_**Hey guys! Sorry about this, but my internet was done for the longest time so all I could do was type and wait for it to come back on. Here is chapter 17, hope you enjoy. Eighteen should be along shortly, but due to a slight case of writers block don't expect it for at least another two days. Anyhow, I'll be going you guys have fun! As always I can't wait to hear from you guys it's always a pleasure and a blessing!**_

_***Note: Sorry about the eighteenth chapter bit for all those who read it. I was a bit tired when I updated so I didn't notice it slipped in! You can just take it as a complimentary sneak peak! lol.**_

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Chapter Seventeen: Conflicting Emotions

"Over your dead body!" Resh hissed coming down out of his bed and crawling onto his Master's shoulder, "My Master has never made a habit of inviting humans to 'tag along'." He seemed to think about that for a moment and with a side glance at Oacus muttered, "Not until recently anyway…."

"But I could be useful!" She protested, "And I promise not to be a burden!"  
"What are you? Six?" Resh snorted, "I think burden is an understatement."

"Please you have to let me come with you!"

Oacus simply stared at the girl, his face blank and his eyes unreadable. He was certain that he had seen this girl somewhere before and had been solemnly searching his mind for any clue, but had turned up blank so far.

Resh gave him an odd look before returning his attention to the girl, "My Master's silence is golden of course and it means he agrees with me."

She scampered forward into the clearing dragging an oversized burlap pack through the dirt behind her, "I would do anything! Please!"

The Sorcerer gazed into the desperate, dark blue eyes that pleaded with him. He was taken off guard by the determination there in her eyes; he could almost see the fire burning within her. Still, he could not shake the feeling that he'd seen her before.

Resh opened his thin mouth, no doubt he was about to snap something sarcastic at the girl.

"Why are you so set on coming with me?" Oacus whispered under his breath before Resh could say anything.

The girl seemed relieved that he was asking, as if that gave her a small glimmer of hope. Her voice was full of anticipation as she told him brightly, "I have never wanted to perform with all the other Masked Ones, I…am just not cut out for that type of stuff. I want to travel on my own instead!" She twiddled her fingers and looked at her feet, "But as you can see i am not old enough to just sneak off on my own, and if I wait my Father would just refuse to let me go." She slowly looked up at him again, "So…you see…you are my only real chance to leave."

"Too scared to run away from home alone are you?" Resh grumbled, "I can see plenty of holes in your reasoning kid, we are not your only choice, just the most convenient. Anyhow what makes you think my Master would even consider—"

"You would have to take care of yourself." The Sorcerer interrupted his eyes trained on the girl, "I do not protect others. I kill them."

She grinned and pulled the pack closer to her side, "You would never even know that I was there."

With a nod Oacus leaned back against the tree behind him and lifted a hand so he could go back to gazing into the small flame that he created there. The girl watched him for a few awkward moments before dropping to the ground and settling in beside her burlap pack. Resh just looked from the girl to Oacus, his tiny mouth handing open.

Then with an exasperated huff he scuttled back up into his leaf bed and curled up to sleep, grumbling incoherent things the whole way.

Silence engulfed the trio for the longest time. Oacus stood there listening to the nighttime noises around him, always on the lookout for even the smallest threats. Above him Resh had begun to snore lightly while the girl on the ground simply gazed up at the night sky, an excited yet tried smile still plastered to her face.

He closed his fist around the flame he had been looking at, snuffing it out. His eyes slowly drifted to the child and he sighed quietly. These days the things he did surprised even him. Since she was a Masked One he wouldn't have been able to kill her anyway, but to allow her to come along just like that? It was inconceivable. Why would he do something so irrational?

_Is it really just some random occurrence? _A small voice at the back of his mind hissed. _Or was there some reason behind it? A reason hidden behind the walls of your memory you have yet to break through? Could that be why she is so familiar?_

"Are you not going to fall asleep?"

Her soft, curious voice whispered across the clearing and he glanced over at her concealed face. Her wide blue eyes watched him carefully.

He looked back at her silently for a second before replying bluntly, "No."

"Oh…" She looked back up at the stars and rubbed her hands together for warmth. After sometime of silence she had built up enough courage to ask softly, "Why not?"

For a moment he felt sure he would snap, glare, or even threaten her. After all he had always hated questions—of any kind. However, when he opened his mouth the words that slipped out were less than frightening.

"Deltora can be perilous at night. I keep watch."

She was quiet for another moment as she plucked a blade of grass from the ground beside her and twirled it around between her fingers. Her eyes followed the blade of grass as it whipped around in circles. After a bit of silence she murmured something that make him freeze,

"They were wrong…"

"What?" He peered at her, confused by her words.

"All of older members of the Masked Ones always spoke about how ruthless you are, how evil your actions have made you. I have never once heard anyone speak of you as anything less than an abomination created by the Shadow Lord himself." She looked up at him. Her blue eyes seemed to look straight into him, "If that were true I would be dead by now, and so would many of our troop members."

Oacus stared at the girl. His gaze was emotionless—cold even—but it did not daunt her. She continued to meet his stare staying steadfast and confident in her statement.

"What is your name, girl?" He asked quietly.

She smiled, "Sarah. My name is Sarah"

"Try not to grow overly accustomed to my company Sarah." The Sorcerer whispered darkly, "Your presence here is tolerated only until the point at which I no longer need you. When that time comes….well, let us hope that you are right about me."


End file.
